'■':'■■" 


liS,i»!»'ftSiA,»M 

,  '•  V'/A  Ml.' 


Wmm 

BHBKmiV.i( 


Columbia  Uniberssitp 
in  tije  Citp  of  Jleto  gorfe 

THF    I.1BRARIFS 


m 


I       Lf)f 


^■^Jb;.   / 


Bequesl  ol 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


GENERAL  LIBRARY 


> 


V 


^ 


> 


POPE     PIUS      X. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE 


OF 


Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette 


CONTAINING 


A  full  and  accurate  account  of  the  development  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  Upper  Michigan 


WITH 


Portraits  of  Bishops,  Priests  and  Illustrations  of  Churches  Old  and  New 


BY 


REV.  ANTOINE  IVAN  REZEK 


VOL.  I. 

HOUGHTON,  MICHIGAN 
1906 


Ot  this  work  there  are  two  hundred  copies  of  de  Luxe  Edition. 
This  copy  is  No.   //i7     and  is  printed  expressly  for 


y/ll^^^<^.a^^J). 


Copyrighted    1 906 

By  ANTOINE  IVAN  REZEK 


X 


CHICAGO 

M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  CO. 

407-429  Dearborn  Street 


TO  THE    MEMORY 

OF 

THE  RT.    REV.    FREDERIC   BARAGA,  D.    D. 

THE  RT.    REV.    IGNATIUS   MRAK,   D.    D. 

THE  RT.   REV.    JOHN   VERTIN,    D.   D. 

THIS 
VOLUME   IS   RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED. 


NE  FRAGMENTA   PEREANT. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  eighties  the  Western  Historical 
Company  undertook  to  record  the  his- 
torical events  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  of 
Michigan.  In  a  large  octavo  volume  of 
rive  hundred  fifty  pages  they  have  accu- 
mulated a  vast  treasury  of  information  of 
civil,  military  and  religious  character. 
Perusing  their  'history'  one  cannot  doubt 
their  honest  endeavors  to  give  to  the  pub- 
lic correct  facts  concerning  the  develop- 
ment of  this  country.  Educational  and 
religious  data  were  given  proper  attention 
and  what  there  is  of  the  latter  is  recorded 
with  equal  fairness  to  all  denominations, 
though  with  less  success  as  to  correctness. 
The  authors  had  no  intention  of  entering 
npi  ill  minute  description  of  the  develop- 
ment of  any  church-denomination,  they 
left  this  to  the  adherents  of  them.  This 
also  applies  to  the  Catholic 'Church.  To 
give,  therefore,  to  the  public  a  true  and 
correct  narrative  of  the  development  of 
the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Upper  Penin- 
sula of  Michigan  is  the  aim  of  this  work. 

The  author  has  waited  for  many  years 
for  some  one  to  take  up  this  task,  but 
only  when  he  saw  that  no  one  interested 
himself  in  this  matter,  and  that  valuable 
information  is  being  lost  by  the  dying-off 
of  those  who  were  best  in  position  to 
know  the  early,  humble  beginnings,  he 
commenced  to  eather  the  material   and 


even  then  delayed  for  years  before  he 
undertook  the  shaping  of  this  volume. 
He  is  well  aware  of  its  shortcomings.  If 
he  could  have  devoted  more  of  his  leisure 
hours  it  might  be  better,  but  a  priest's 
life  in  this  section  of  the  country,  as  else- 
where, abounds  with  pastoral  duty  which 
necessarily  must  first  be  fulfilled. 

"Not  one  in  a  thousand"  says  a  writer 
"halts  to  consider  the  various  obstacles 
which  strew  the  path  of  the  historical 
writer ;  not  one  gives  a  thought  to  the  re- 
sponsibility which  attaches  -itself  to  him, 
but  all  join  in  searching  for  errors."  The 
truth  of  this  the  author  fully  appreciates. 
His  experience  in  collecting  the  material 
has  not  lacked  the  disagreeable,  particu- 
larly where  personal  researches  were  im- 
possible and  a  stamped  envelope  failed  to 
have  an  effect.  Such  obstacles,  however, 
were  overcome  by  a  more  assiduous  ap- 
plication and  have  only  stimulated  the 
writer  in  his  undertaking. 

When  the  work  was  begun  only  one 
modest  volume  was  contemplated.  Since 
then  the  material  has  so  accumulated, 
that  even  confining  himself  to  the  most 
substantial  narrative,  the  author  has 
found  it  impossible  to  offer  the  entire  his- 
tory of  the  diocese  within  two  covers  and 
for  this  reason  most  of  the  humorous  and 
anecdotical  has  been  left  out  at  the  risk  of 


11 


12 


PREFACE 


leaving  the  matter  less  readable  and  palat- 
able. Instead  of  two  volumes  there  could 
have  been  five,  but  the  cost  of  production 
makes  the  reduction  obvious. 

The  History  of  the  Diocese  of  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette  has  been  di- 
vided into  two  parts.  The  first  volume 
contains  the  biographical  sketches  of  the 
four  bishops,  and  some  contemporary 
missionaries,  throwing,  at  the  same  time, 
light  upon  a  general  development  of  the 
diocese  in  their  time.  The  second  volume 
shall  contain  the  history  of  the  individual 
parishes  from  their  inception,  giving  full 
account  of  the  early  Jesuit  missions  in 
the  pre-diocesan  days. 

The  illustrations  represent  all  the 
bishops  and  priests  who  have  labored  in 
the  diocese  as  well  as  all  the  buildings, 
new  and  old — as  far  as  an  unsparing 
effort  could  make  their  list  complete. 


These  illustrations  made  the  work 
costly  indeed,  but  to  avoid  descriptions, 
which  would  not  be  adequate,  they  were 
necessary  and  they,  at  the  same  time,  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  those  men  who 
have  sacrificed  their  best  days  and  talents 
in  the  service  of  the  Church  in  this  Upper 
Michigan ;  and  of  the  buildings  a  lasting 
record  is  made  to  posterity  as  a  reminder 
of  where  their  ancestors  worshipped  con- 
tentedly under  the  humble  roofs  of 
wooden  churches. 

In  the  compilation  of  a  work  such  as 
this,  one  naturally  receives  services  from 
many  persons:  due  acknowledgement  of 
services  rendered  to  the  author  will  be 
made  in  the  second  volume. 

Houghton,  Michigan  on  the  Feast  of 
Sts.  Cyrill  and  Methodius,  1906. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

page. 

THE   RIGHT   REVEREND   FREDERIC    BARAGA 

His  family  history  and  his  birth.  His  studies 
and  ordination  to  priesthood.  Resolves  to 
go  as  a  missionary  to  America.  Arrives  in 
Cincinnati.  Goes  to  Arbre  Croche.  His 
missionary  labors  there 17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Baraga  establishes  a  mission  on  the  Grand 
River.  He  goes  to  La  Pointe,  Wisconsin. 
His  labors  in  the  St.  Joseph  mission.  Vis- 
its his  native   country.     His   literary   labors.  52 

CHAPTER  III. 
Baraga    establishes    the    mission    at    L'Anse. 
Writes     his     Indian     grammar.       He     visits 
Eagle  Harbor,  his  first  white  mission.     His 
activity  at  L'Anse "7 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Upper  Michigan  is  made  «  Vicariate  Aposto- 
lic. Baraga  is  created  its  first  Vicar  Apos- 
tolic. Is  consecrated  bishop  in  Cincinnati. 
Visits  his  native  country  in  search  of  priests 
and  means.  Returns  to  his  Vicariate  and 
takes  up  his  residence  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
The  first  ordination  in  the  Diocese.  His 
extraordinary  activity.  The  Vicariate  Apos- 
tolic is  created  into  the  diocese  of  Sault 
Ste.    Marie 95 

CHAPTER  V. 
Bishop    Baraga's    labors    and    the    growth    of 
the  missions  from   1857  to   1861 141 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Bishop  Baraga's  labors   from    1861   to   1865... 167 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Bishop  Baraga  transfers  his  See  to  Marquette. 
The  diocese  receives  the  title  of  Sault 
Sainte  Marie  and  Marquette.  Baraga  at- 
tends the  Plenary  Council  at  Baltimore.  Is 
stricken  with  apoplexy.  His  long  sickness. 
His  death.     The   fiftieth  anniversary   of  his 


consecration. 


.188 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    RIGHT    REV.     IGNATIUS     MRAK,    D.    D. 

His  origin  and  his  early  days.  His  ordina- 
tion to  priesthood.  Becomes  private  tutor 
in  a  noble  family.  Resolves  to  go  to  Amer- 
ica. Becomes  assistant  to  Father  Pierz  at 
Arbre  Croche.  Is  made  first  Vicar  General 
of  the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette. Becomes  second  Bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese.    Goes  to  the  Vatican  Council 216 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Returns  from  the  Vatican  Council.  Resumes 
his  duties.  Attends  the  conferring  of  the 
Paliium  upon  the  first  Archbishop  of  Mil- 
waukee. Lays  down  the  first  rules  and  reg- 
ulations for  the  government  of  the  tem- 
poral affairs  of  parishes  in  the  diocese.  Is 
stricken  with  sciatic  rheumatism.  Resigns 
his  office.  Returns  to  his  Indian  mission 
at  Eagletown.  Returns  to  Marquette.  His 
last    days.      His    demise 23S 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   RIGHT   REV.    JOHN   VERTIN,    D.    D. 

His  family  connections.  His  early  education. 
His  arrival  in  America.  His  ordination  to 
priesthood.  Priestly  labors.  Elevation  to 
the  Episcopate.  His  consecration  in  Ne- 
gaunee.  The  burning  of  his  Cathedral  and 
concomitant  troubles 260 


13 


14 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Bishop  Vertin  commences  the  building  of  his 
Cathedral.  Makes  his  first  visit  to  the 
Apostolic  See  and  incidentally  visits  his  na- 
tive country.  Attends  the  Third  Plenary 
Council.  Attends  the  first  Provincial  Coun- 
cil of  Milwaukee.  Models  the  government 
of  his  diocese  in  sentiment  of  the  decrees 
of  the  Plenary  and  the  Provincial  Councils.. 281 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Bishop  Vertin*s  pastoral  on  education.  Pas- 
toral on  religious  societies  and  holy  Com- 
munion of  reparation.  The  first  Pro- Syn- 
odal Conference.  His  Silver  Jubilee.  His 
second  visit  ad  limina.  His  sickness  and  his 
death    299 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  RIGHT  REV.  FREDERICK  EIS,  D.   D. 

His  early  education.  His  ordination  to  priest- 
hood. The  elevation  to  the  Episcopate.  His 
first  visit  to  the  Apostolic  See.  His  labors 
as  the'  fourth  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette.  Holds  the  sec- 
ond   Pro-Synodal    Conference 326 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Rev.   Samuel  Mazzuchelli 336 

Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Haetscher 341 

Rev.    Simon    Saenderl 342 

Rev.  Andrew  D.  J.   Piret 344 

Rev.  Francis  Pierz 344 

Rev.  Otton  Skolla,  O.S.F 359 

Rev.    Lawrence    Dunne 374 

Rev.  Henry  L.  Thiele 375 

Rev.    Edward   Jacker .376 

Rev.    Martin    Fox 380 

Rev.  John   Cebul 383 

Rev.    Honoratus   Bourion 389 

Rev.   Gerhard  Terhorst 390 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

page. 
His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  X.   (Frontispiece)...  4 
Rt.  Rev.   Frederic  Baraga  at  the  time  of  his 

consecration     20 

The  birth  place  of  Bishop  Baraga '. . .  22 

The  church  of  St.  George  in  Doebernig  where 

Bishop  Baraga  was  baptized 25 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  ordination  cer- 
tificate      28 


Facsimile  of  letter  written  by  Frederic  Ba- 
raga to  Bishop  Fenwick  asking  for  admis- 
sion into  the  Diocese  of  Cincinnati 31 

Rt.  Rev.  Edward  Fenwick,  Bishop  of  Cincin- 
nati       35 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  certificate  while 

studying    Humaniora    38 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  certificate  while 

in   the   philosophical   course 41 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  matriculation 
and  attendance   in  the  higher  philosophy  at 

the    University    of    Vienna 44 

Facsimile  of  attest  of  Bishop  Baraga's  mat- 
riculation and  attendance  in  the  law  depart- 
ment at  the  University  of  Vienna 47 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  school  certifi- 
cate while  taking  a  law  course  at  the  Uni- 
versity  of   Vienna 49 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  certificate  for 
ecclesiastical  history  in  the  Seminary  of  Lai- 
bach    5° 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  attendance  at 
the    Classes    of    Eastern    languages    at    the 

Seminary    of    Laibach 56 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  certificate  of 
Moral  Theology  at  the  Seminary  of  Laibach.  59 

Rt.  Rev.  Frederic  Rese 62 

Church  of  St.  Joseph  at  La  Pointe,  Wis 65 

Rt.  Rev.  Peter  Paul  Lefevere,  Bishop  of  De- 
troit      67 

Mr.  Peter  Crebassa  and  his  wife  Nancy,  born 

Roussain    7° 

The  first  church  of  L'Anse  73 

Facsimile    of    Apostolic    letters    erecting    the 

Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Upper  Michigan 75 

Facsimile  of  Apostolic  letters  appointing  Rev. 
Frederic  Baraga  as  Bishop  of  Amyzonia  in 

partibus    infidelium 79 

Facsimile  of  attest  of  Frederic  Baraga's  con- 
secration    S2 

Most  Rev.  John  B.   Purcell 84 

Rt.  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni 87 

Signature  of  Most  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni. ..  89 

Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 92 

Cathedral  and  residence  of  Bishop  Baraga  at 

Sault  Ste.  Marie  in   1853   96 

Facsimile  of  Apostolic  letters  appointing  Bish- 
op   Baraga    as    Vicar    Apostolic    of    Upper 

Michigan    .98 

Facsimile  of  Apostolic  letters  erecting  the  Vi- 
cariate  Apostolic    of    Upper    Michigan    into 

the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie 101 

Facsimile  of  Apostolic  letters  appointing  Bish- 
op Baraga  as  Bishop  of ■  Sault  Ste.  Marie..  105 


CONTEXTS 


15 


The   Marriage   of  Francis  Joseph   I.,  Emperor 

of   Austria    108 

Bishop  Baraga's  coat  of  arms no 

The  site  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Church  at  In- 
dian   Lake    near    Manistique 116 

The  ancient  Indian  cemetery  at  Indian  Lake..  119 
The  site  of   Father  Baraga's   residence  at   In- 
dian   Lake    I22 

Caspar   Schulte    '  J4 

Pulpit   of   Bishop    Baraga 127 

Marquette  in  1849   129 

Rev.  D.  Du  Ranquet,  S.J 132 

Rev.   August   Kohler,   S.J 134 

The  first  Ursuline  Convent  at  the  Sault 136 

Mother    M.    Xavier,   the   first    Ursuline    Sister 

who  came  to  the  Sault 138 

John  Bouche,  Bishop  Baraga's  guide 139 

Bishop  Baraga's  "Palace"  at  the  Sault 144 

Sargeant   Balthazar  Galley U7 

Rev.    G.    B.    Weikamp 14" 

Rev.  Father  Masson I 5-' 

Rev.  Charles  Magnee 1 54 

A  view  of  the  old  Marquette  Court  House 
with  the  first  church  and  the  first  Ursu- 
line  Convent    1 57 

Rev.    Sebastian    Duroc 160 

Rev.  Richard  Baxter,  S.J 162 

Rev.   P.   M.   Flannigan 165 

Rev.  John  B.  Broun 169 

Rev.    Mathias    Orth    171 

Rev.   Edmund  Walsh    174 

Rev.   William   Dwyer 177 

Church    of    Sts.    Peter    and    Paul,    Greenland. 

Mich 179 

The  old  Flannigan  homestead  at  Greenland.  .  181 

Captain  James  Flannigan   183 

St.    Patrick's    church,    Ontonagon 185 

The  north  view   of  the   ruins   of   St.   Francis 

church,    Norwich,    Ontonagon    Co 189 

The  southwest  view  of  the  ruins  of  St.  Fran- 
cis church  at  Norwich 191 

The  southeast  view  of  the  ruins  of  St.  Fran- 
cis  church   at   Norwich 193 

The    first    St.     Peter's    Cathedral,    Marquette, 

Mich 195 

Hon.  Peter  White  199 

A  trunk  which  belonged  to  Bishop  Baraga.  ...200 
A  reliquary  which  belonged  to  Bishop  Baraga. 203 
A   likeness   of   Bishop    Baraga    shortly   before 

his   demise    206 

The  remains  of  Bishop  Baraga  in  state  at  St. 

Peter's    Cathedral    209 

Monument  erected  to  Bishop  Baraga  at  Do- 
bernice     213 


Marquette   in   1S57   217 

Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak  at  the  time  of  his  con- 
secration     219 

Bishop     Mrak's     school     certificate     from     the 

grammar    grades    220 

Bishop  Mrak's  school  certificate  second  Gym- 
nasium  class    -22 

Bishop  Mrak's  school  certificate  fourth  Gym- 
nasium   class    -23 

Bishop  Mrak's  certificate  in  higher  classics. .  .225 
Bishop   Mrak's   certificate   in   the  philosophical 

course    227 

Bishop  Mrak's  school  certificate  in  botany.  ..  .228 
Bishop  Mrak's  certificate  in  moral  theology.  .  .230 
Bishop  Mrak's  certificate  in  dogmatic  theology. 232 
Bishop  Mrak's  certificate  in  pastoral  theology. 234 
Facsimile  of  permission  to  Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak 
to    celebrate    his    first    Mass    in    his    parish 

church     235 

Facsimile  of  letters  appointing  Rev.  Ignatius 
Mrak   assistant    to    Father    Pierz    at    Arbre 

Croche     236 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  letters  appoint- 
ing   Rev.    Ignatius    Mrak    Vicar-General    of 

the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie 239 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  letters  empow- 
ering Vicar-General  Ignatius  Mrak  to  ob- 
tain  priests  while   abroad 240 

Facsimile  of  Archbishop  Purcell's  letter  to 
Bishop  Lefevere  requesting  him  to  influence 
Father  Mrak  to  accept  the  episcopal  conse- 
cration     241 

Facsimile  of  Archbishop  Purcell's  letter  to 
Father  Mrak  urging  him  to  accept  the  epis- 
copal   burden     242 

Facsimile    of    Papal    Bull    appointing    Father 

Mrak  the  second  Bishop  of  Marquette 244 

Address   on  the   Bull  of  appointment  and  at- 
test   of    Bishop    Mrak's    consecration 246 

Signature  of  Pope  Pius  IX.; 247 

The  old  time  stage  from  Negaunee  to  Mar- 
quette     249 

Rt.  Rev.  John  Stariha,  Bishop  of  Lead,  S.  D.  .250 

Rev.  Peter  Gallagher   251 

Rev.   Francis   Berube    252 

Rev.   Luke   Mozina    253 

Rev.    Anthony    Hubly    254 

Rev.  John   Brown    255 

Bishop    Mrak    going    to    the    consecration    of 

Bishop    Eis    256 

Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak  in  his  nineties 257 

The  remains  of  Bishop   Mrak  in  state  at  St. 

Peter's    Cathedral    258 

Marquette  in   1863    261 


16 


CONTENTS 


Seminarians  of  St.  Francis  in  1863,  with  the 
late  Archbishop  Katzer,  and  the  late  Bish- 
op Vertin   263 

The   city  of   Tchernembl,   Carniolia 265 

Facsimile  of  Bishop  Baraga's  letter  sending 
young   John  Wertin   to    Father   Bourion    to 

learn    French     267 

Mr.  Joseph  Wertin,  Sr.,  father  of  Bishop  Ver- 
tin     269 

Mrs.  Mary  Wertin,  mother  of  Bishop  Vertin.  .271 
Bishop  Vertin  at  the  time  of  his  consecration. 273 
Facsimile  of  Apostolic  letters  appointing  Fath- 
er   Vertin    third   Bishop   of   Marquette   with 

the    attest   of   his    consecration 275 

Rt.  Rev.  Caspar  Borgess  276 

The   first   Diocesan    Retreat,    1893 277 

Rev.    Maurice    Henns,   O.M.,   Cap 27S 

Rev.    Simon    Marceau    279 

Rev.    John    C.    Kenny     285 

Rev.    Th.    A.    Trottenberg 287 

Rev.   William   T.    Roy    289 

Rev.   J.    E.    Struif 291 

Rev.    Joseph    Barron    293 

Rev.    Michael   Weis    295 

Second    Diocesan    Retreat,     1895 297 

Rev.    Andrew    Henderson    300 

Rev.   C.   F.    Schelhammer 302 

Rev.    John    Reichenbach    304 

Rev.    P.    P.    Mazufet 306 

Rev.   Philip   Kummert    3°§ 

Bishop    Vertin    at    the    Provincial    Council    of 

Milwaukee 310 

Rev.   M.  J.  Van   Stratten 312 

Rev.   Th.   A.   Majerus    3'4 

Rev.    Paul    Datin     3'° 

Rev.  Julius  Baron  Von  Gumpenberg 318 

Rev.    E.    Chapuis    320 

Bishop  Vertin  in  the  last  years  of  his  life... 322 
The  remains  of  Bishop  Vertin  while  in   state 

in  the  St.   Peter's  Cathedral 32T, 

Rt.    Rev.    Frederick    Eis 327 

Facsimile    of    Papal    Bull    appointing    Father 

Eis    fourth    Bishop    of    Marquette 329 

Facsimile  of  attest  of  Bishop  Eis'  consecra- 
tion      33° 

Bishop  Eis  on  his  way  to  consecration 331 


Rev.    Adolph    Schneider    333 

Rev.   Francis   H.   Swift 337 

Rev.  Thomas  A.  Kennedy 338 

Rev.  Samuel  C.  Mazzuchelli,  O.P 340 

Rev.  Andrew  D.  J.  Piret 342 

Father   Piret's   "La  Ferme"   at   Les   Cheneaux 

Islands    343 

Rev.   Francis   Pierz 345 

Rev    Otton   Skolla.  O.S.F < 

The  church  at  La  Pointe  in  Skolla's  time 361 

Rev.   Lawrence   Dunne 375 

Rev.  Henry  L.   Thiele 376 

Rev.    Edward   Jacker 377 

Father    Marquette   taking    lessons    in    Geogra- 
phy from  the  Indians 378 

Rev.    Martin    Fox 380 

Three    pioneer    missionaries    of    the    diocese; 

Revs.  Fox,  Cebul  and  Jacker 382 

Rev.   John   Cebul 3S3 

The    first    church    in    Duluth   built    by    Father 

Cebul     3S4 

Inside  view  of  the  first  church  in  Duluth 385 

Rev.    Honoratus   Bourion 3SS 

Rev.  Gerhard  Terhorst  with  a  band  of  his  or- 
phans      390 

The  grave  of  Father  Andrew  Andolschek.  . .  .341 

Rev.    Joseph    Niebling 346 

Rev.  James  W.   Kelly 347 

Rev.  Joseph   E.   Martel 34S 

Rev.   H.  J.   Rousseau 341 

Rev.   Anacletus  O.   Pellisson 351 

Rev.   Alberico  Vitali,  J.U.D 353 

Rev.  Joseph  Haas 355 

Rev.    Joseph    Hoeber 362 

Rev.    Fidelis    Sutter 364 

Rev.    Anthony    Hodnik 366 

Rev.   Joseph   Wallace 369 

Rev.  J.   R.   Regis 371 

Rev.   A.   Th.   Schuttelhofifer 373 

Rev.  James  McGowan 379 

Rev.    Michael    Letellier 381 

Rev.    Anthony    Zagar 387 

Rev.   William   Shea 391 

Rev.    Renatus    Becker 392 


HISTORY    OF    THE    DIOCESE    OF    SAULT 
STE.     MARIE    AND     MARQUETTE^ 

Chapter      I  . 

THE     RIGHT     REVEREND     FREDERIC      BARAGA 

His   family   history   and   his   birth. — His   studies   and   ordination 
to   priesthood. — Resolves   to   go   as  a  missionary   to    America. 
Arrives    in    Cincinnati. — Goes   to  Arbre  Croche. 

His    missionary    labors    there. 


Life  is  a  leaf  of  paper  white 
Whereon  each  one  of  us  may  write, 
His  word  or  two,  and  then  comes  night. 
— /.  Russell  Lowell. 

The  history  of  the  Diocese  of  Sault 
Sainte  Marie  and  Marquette,  we  may 
well  say,  begins  with  the  life  of  Bishop 
Baraga.  The  history  of  his  life  belongs 
to  the  history  of  the  Diocese.  We  will 
therefore,  before  we  pass  to  the  history 
of  the  individual  parishes,  give  an 
abridged  biography  of  Bishop  Baraga, 
mainly  to  connect  Diocesan  happenings  to 
pre-diocesan  times,  and  also  to  correct 
some  mistakes  which  have  been  accepted 
as  facts. 

Bishop  Baraga  was  not  a  "titled"  no- 
bleman. His  father  John  Nepomuc  Ba- 
raga was  administrator  of  the  estate  and 
castle  at  Mirna  (Neudegg),  and  as  such 
appears  to  have  been  of  moderate  means 
and  a  widower.  On  his  mother's  side 
Bishop  Baraga's  pedigree  is  more  re- 
nowned.      The     maternal     grandfather, 


Bernard  Anton  de  Jencic,  came  into  pos- 
session, by  purchase  of  the  Count  Auers- 
perg's  Castle  Malavas.  P.  Chrysostomus 
Verwyst,  O.F.M.,  the  biographer  of 
Bishop  Baraga,  quoting  from  Baron 
Weikhard  Valvasor's  work  "Ehre  des 
Herzogthums  Krain,"  writes:  "In  the 
parish  of  Dobernig  there  stood  on  a 
mountain  a  very  ancient  castle,  called 
Kozjak.  At  present  (1683)  only  a  few 
ruins  remain.  During  the  unhappy  times 
caused  by  the  invasion  of  the  Turks  in 
the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  this  castle  was  often  attacked 
by  the  Musselmans,  but  never  captured. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury the  castle  Kozjak  was  abandoned  by 
its  owner,  Count  Auersperg,  and  in  con- 
sequence Count  Wolfgang  Engelbert  von 
Auersperg  built — circa  1670 — in  the  val- 
ley a  smaller  castle  in  order  to  live  more 
conveniently.  The  materials  of  the  an- 
cient castle  Kozjek  were  removed  to  Ma- 
lavas (Kleindorf). 


18 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


"After  the  death  of  W.  E.  Count  of 
Auersperg,  his  brother,  Johann  Weik- 
hard,  Prince  of  Auersperg,  inherited  said 
castle,  and  after  his  death  it  passed  to 
his  son  Ferdinand,  Prince  of  Auersperg. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  family  Morautscher  (  Slov.  Mo- 
ra veer)  bought  said  castle.  After  the 
death  of  Francis  Morautscher,  March  3d, 
1742,  the  castle  was  purchased  by  Josef 
Karl  Kern,  who  a  few  years  later,  c.  1750, 
sold  it  to  Bernard  Anton  de  Jencic,  Ba- 
raga's maternal  grandfather.  In  this 
castle  were  born  unto  Bernard  Anton  and 
Katharina  de  Jencic  the  following  chil- 
dren : 

1.  Anton  Daniel  Josef,  born  May  3.1, 

1756. 

2.  Maria  Theresia,  born  October  24, 

1757- 

3.  Maria     Katharina     Josefa.     born 

March  21,  1759.     (  Mother  of  Bishop  Ba- 
raga. ) 

4.  Anton  Bernard  Josef,  born  May 
22.  1760. 

5.  Maria  Elizabeth,  born  January  7, 
1 762. 

6.  losef  Stanislaus  Anton,  born  May 

7.  Ferdinand  Josef  Michael,  born 
September  24,  1764. 

8.  Francisca  Xaveria,  burn  Novem- 
ber 6,  1765. 

9.  Wilhelm  Vincenz  Ignac,  born 
March   9,    1768.1 

Thus  Baraga's  mother  was  among  nine 
children  the  third  oldest,  and  whatever 
titled  nobility  descended  upon  Baraga,  it 
came  from  his  mother — nee  de  Jencic. 
She  inherited,  after  her  father's  death 
including  the  estate  Malavas,  a  vast  for- 


'Verwyst,  Life  of  B.  Baraga,  pg.  75. 


tune.  May  16,  1792  she  was  married  to 
Johann  Xepumuc  Baraga,  by  Thomas 
Zajec,  the  parish  priest  of  Doebernig. 

Five  children  were  born  of  this  mar- 
riage : 

1.  Maria,  born  and  died   March    13, 

1793- 

2.  Vincenz    Johann    Nepomuc,    born 

January  21,,  1794,  died  February  24, 
1794. 

3.  Amalia.  born  July  16,  1795. 

4.  Irenaeus  Frederic,  born  June  29, 

1797- 

5.  Antonia,  born  February  4,  1803. 

According  to  the  foregoing.  Bishop 
Baraga  was  born  in  Malavas  belonging 
to  the  parish  of  Dobernice,  or  Doebernig 
in  German,  in  the  Austrian  Dukedom  of 
Carnio//a.  He  was  not  a  German ;  nor  a 
Slavonian.  Slavonian  is  too  comprehen- 
sive a  term;  for  it  includes  the  Bulgarian, 
Russian,  Ruthenian,  Polish,  Bohemian, 
Moravian,  Slovakian,  Servian,  Croatian 
and  Slovenic.  If  he  is  to  be  classed  ac- 
cording to  his  maternal  tongue,  then  a 
more  specific  term  must  be  used,  for  Slo- 
venic was  his  native  language  and  hence 
he  was  a  Slovenian,  so  wrongly  con- 
founded with  the  Slovonian.  If  he  is  to 
be  called  according  to  the  native  province, 
he  was  a  Carniolian — from  the  province 
of  Carnio/ta,  and  not  Carnio/o.  It  is  Dal- 
matia,  Bosnia,  Croatia,  Istria,  Carinthia, 
Stvria  and  consequently  also  Carnio/ia. 
all  English  Atlases  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. He  cannot  be  a  Slavonian, 
as  one  coming  from  Slavonia,  because 
Slavonia  is  a  Creation  province  between 
the  river  Drave  and  Danube,  on  the 
north,  and  Save  in  the  south,  down  to 
Semlin,  opposite  Belgrade,  the  Servian 
capital. 


S.-1ULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


19 


On  the  29th  of  June  1797  Baraga  was 
baptized  in  the  parish  church  of  Dober- 
nice  by  the  assistant  priest  Anton  Her- 
man and  was  named  Irenaeus  Frederic. 
His  sponsors  were  Andreas  Zurbi  and 
Juliana  Abulner. 

Baraga  himself  never  made  use  of  his 
first  name,  Irenaeus,  and  is  known  only 
as  Frederic  Baraga. 

In  1799  Baraga's  parents  sold  the  Ma- 
lavas  possessions  and  bought  the  Castle  at 
Treffen.  From  this  time,  changes  around 
the  native  hearth  were  frequent.  At  the 
age  of  nine,  young  Frederic  was  sent 
to  Laibach  where,  under  a.  private  tutor, 
he  studied  such  branches  as  are  common 
to  elementary  schools.  Two  years  later, 
1808,  his  pious  mother  died,  and  four 
years  after.  1812,  his  father.  Deprived 
of  both  parents,  Frederic  came  into  the 
hmise  of  Dr.  George  Dolinar,  a  layman, 
yet  a  professor  in  the  Diocesan  clerical 
Seminary.  He  was  a  man  renowned  for 
piety  and  learning.  At  the  ripe  age  of 
ninety-five  years  he  died,  October  21, 
1858.  having  lived  long  enough  to  see 
his  protege  a  Bishop. 

Under  Dolinar's  wise  guidance  Fred- 
eric pursued  his  classical  studies  in  the 
royal  Gymnasium.  French  occupation 
of  the  country  under  Napoleon  brought 
also  the  French  language  into  the  schools. 
It  is  in  this  school  that  Frederic  acquired 
the  fundamental  knowdedge  of  the  French 
language,  which  was  of  so  much  service 
to  him  during  all  his  missionary  career, 
and  which  he  so  beautifully  and  perfectly 
spoke  and  wrote. 

In  18 16,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  en- 
tered the  University  of  Vienna  and  ma- 
triculated in  the  law  department.  "Bara- 
ga's spiritual  guide  and  confessor  at  Vi- 


enna," writes  .  Father  Verwyst,  "was 
Blessed  Clement  Maria  Hofbauer,  that 
illustrious  member  of  the  Congregation 
of  the  Most  Holy  Redeemer,  who  died  on 
the  15th  of  March  1820  and  was  beati- 
fied in  1888.  It  was  most  likely  this  holy 
man  who  awakened  in  the  heart  of  Ba- 
raga the  desire  of  devoting  himself  to  the 
ecclesiastical  state.  Baraga  visited  him 
frequently  at  Vienna,  and  the  sight  and 
conversation  of  Blessed  Clement  Maria 
Hofbauer  must  have  made  a  deep,  last- 
ing and  salutary  impression  on  the  pious 
and  sensitive  youth.  Although  Baraga 
never  said  anything  about  how  or  when, 
or  by  whom  he  was  induced  to  study  for 
the  priesthood,  we  may  safely  conclude 
that,  after  God,  it  was  due  to  the  coun- 
sels and  prayers  of  his  holy  confessor. 
The  burning  zeal  of  St.  Alphonsus  was 
infused  into  the  heart  of  his  worthy  dis- 
ciple. Blessed  Clement  Maria  Hofbauer, 
and  he  again  communicated  it  to  his  spir- 
itual child  Baraga."  '- 

After  graduating,  summer  182 1,  Bar- 
aga applied  for  admission  into  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Vienna.  When  he  called  on 
his  own  bishop  the  Rt.  Rev.  Augustine 
Gruber,  for  the  papers  necessary  for  a 
transfer  into  the  Vienna  diocese,  he  was 
prevailed  upon,  since  he  had  decided  to 
study  for  priesthood,  to  remain  in  his 
native  diocese.  Hence,  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  found  him  in  the  Seminary  of 
Laibach.  The  fact  that  in  two  years  he 
was  admitted  to  Holy  Orders,  speaks 
loudly  for  his  ability,  as  well  as  for  his 
character.  At  the  end  of  the  second  year, 
Sept.  21,  A.  D.  1823.  he  was  ordained 
priest,  and  the  following  morning  at  five 


2  Op.  cit.  p.  85. 


20 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


o'clock,  on  the  Blessed  Sacrament  Altar, 
in  the  Cathedral,  in  presence  of  his  two 
sisters,  Amalia  and  Antonia  and  his  old 
friend  Dr.  George  Dolinar,  he  celebrated 
his  first  Mass. 


church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  a  city 
church,  surnamed  Tirnau.  To  his  sister 
Amalia  he  writes:  "I  stood  on  the  mar- 
ket place  of  the  world  without  occupa- 
tion; suddenly  comes  He,  whose  name  is 


RT.   REV.   BARAGA  AT  THE  TIME  OF   HIS   CONSECRATION. 

Baraga   remained   another  year  in   the  Love,  and  calls  me,  the  wordling,  saying, 

Seminary.     During  that  year  he  assisted  'Go  thou  also  and  I  shall  give  thee  what 

and    preached    where    it    was    necessary,  is    right.'     Behold   O    Lord    here    I    am, 

His    first    sermon    he    preached    in    the  give  me  then  what  is  right,  give  me  the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


21 


strength  and  virtue  which  possessed  St. 
Paul,  the  apostle." 

Amalia,  Baraga's  oldest  sister  had 
married  a  Gressel  and  was  living  on  the 
paternal  estate  at  Treffen.  On  the  24th 
of  May,  1824,  his  younger  sister  Antonia 
married  Felix  de  Hoeffern,  who,  how- 
ever, died  shortly  afterwards.  At  this 
time  Father  Baraga  renounced  in  favor 
of  his  two  sisters  the  paternal  estate, 
which  was  left  to  him  by  the  will  of  his 
father. 

With  the  autumn  of  1824,  commenced 
Baraga's  pastoral  activity.  He  was  scut 
as  assistant  to  St.  Martin,  near  Krain- 
burg,  where  he  remained  until  June, 
1828,  and,  then  was  transferred,  in  the 
same  capacity  to  Metlika,  a  difficult  and 
somewhat  neglected  parish  in  Lower  Car- 
niolia.  In  both  these  places  Baraga's 
activity  was  not  limited,  however,  to  the 
duties  of  the  priest  in  the  school  and 
church.  Although  extremely  active  in 
the  pulpit,  so  much  so,  that  the  faithful 
flocked  from  near  and  far  to  hear  his 
sermons,  his  zeal  in  the  confessional  can 
be  measured  only  by  the  multitudes  that 
continually  surrounded  his  confessional, 
he  also  found  time  for  literary  pursuits. 
In  St.  Martin  he  began  writing  a  Slov- 
enian prayer  book,  entitled  "Dusna  pasa," 
— the  pasture  of  the  soul — concerning 
which  Dr.  Leon  Voncina.  Baraga's  Slov- 
enian biographer  says,  "though  many  a 
prayer  book  has  been  published  since 
then,  none  has  been  able  to  satisfy  so  well 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  Slovenian  peo- 
ple and  to  retain  popular  appreciation,  as 
Dusna  pasa ;  it  is  a  cherished  monument, 
by  which  Baraga  lives  and  shall  live  in 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  faithful, 
pious   Slovenians   in   and   outside  of  the 


borders  of  Krain."  The  universal  Jubi- 
lee proclaimed  by  the  then  newly  elected 
Lope  Leo  XII.  caused  him  to  write  this 
book.  It  appeared  first  in  the  year  1830, 
together  with  "the  Veneration  and  Imita- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Mother  of  God"  trans- 
lated from  the  German  at  the  instigation 
of  his  life  long  friend,  Augustin  Shiga, 
Dean  of  Krainburg.  Since  then  it  has 
lived  to  see  ten  editions,  the  last  one  in 
1905,  in  84,000  copies. 

On  the  29th  day  of  May,  1829,  the 
"Leopoldinen  Stiftung,"  a  society  for  the 
supporting  of  Missions  in  North  Amer- 
ica, was  established  in  Vienna  under  the 
protectorate  of  his  Imperial  Highness, 
the  Archduke  Rudolph,  Cardinal  Prince 
Archbishop  of  Olmuetz.  This  news  was 
heralded  by  the  press  throughout  the  em- 
pire. Baraga  received  it  on  the  Feast  of 
St.  Aloysius  and  considered  it  very  sig- 
nificant. The  long  pent  up  ambitions 
broke  forth  from  the  heart,  where  they 
lay  so  long  enclosed,  with  unchecked  en- 
thusiasm. A  consultation  with  his  sister 
was  held.  The  Bishop  favored  the  idea, 
the  Prince  Archbishop  of  Vienna  acting 
as  Protector  of  the  organization,  prom- 
ised the  necessary  pecuniary  means. 
There  only  remained  to  find  a  Bishop  in 
America  who  would  receive  him  into  his 
Diocese. 

Bishop  Fenwick's  name,  of  Cincinnati, 
suggested  itself  for  the  reason  that  he 
was,  through  his  Vicar-General  Rese,  the 
main  instigator  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Leopoldine  Society.  To  him  there- 
fore Baraga  addressed,  November  13, 
1829,  the  following  letter: 
"To  the  Most  Reverend  Lord,  Lord  Ed- 
ward Fenivick,  most  worthy  bishop 
of  Cincinnati. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Most  Reverend  Lord,  Lord  :  For 
a  long  time  1  have  felt  the  de- 
sire of  going  into  the  missions  that, 
with  the  help  of  God,  I  may  at  least  to 
si  ime  souls,  who  still  sit  in  darkness  and 
in  the  shadow  of  death,  bring  the  true 
light  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  by  that 
Faith  and  Baptism  show  them  the  road  to 
eternal  salvation.  This  has  always  been 
my  most  ardent  desire,  but  it  remained 
pent  up  in  my  breast  waiting  only  for  an 


ious  pamphlet  sent  by  order  of  the  most 
august  Emperor  to  all  the  Bishops  and 
by  them  to  all  the  Deans  and  other 
priests  of  almost  the  entire  empire,  gave 
me  the  opportunity  to  communicate  my 
desires  to  my  superiors.  On  the  ioth  of 
August,  I  asked,  in  writing,  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  of  Laibach  to  transfer  me  to 
the  Diocese  of  Cincinnati  in  North  Am- 
erica. He  received  my  petition  with 
benevolence    and    obtained    for    me,    Oc- 


THE  EIRTH   PLACE  OK   BISHOP   BARAGA. 


opportunity  to  manifest  itself.  This 
occasion  —  praised  be  God,  who  has  re- 
garded my  humility  and  has  filled  the 
hungry  one  with  good  things— came  to 
me  this  year.  A  booklet,  in  the  German 
language,  was  issued  in  Vienna,  Austria, 
by  the  Very  Rev.  Frederic  Rese.  Vicar 
General  of  your  Lordship's  diocese. 
There  I  read  with  tears  in  my  eyes  how 
few  are  the  workers  in  the  diocese  and 
how   abundant    the  harvest.      This   prec- 


tober  5th,  fr<  >m  the  august  Emperor  the 
permission  to  enter  the  Cincinnati  Dio- 
cese, on  one  condition  only,  that  I  bring 
from  your  Lordship,  the  letter  of  accept- 
ance. Hence.  I  beg  you,  Most  Reverend 
Lord-Bishop,  and  most  humbly  suppli- 
cate that  your  Lordship  may  deign  to 
send  me,  as  soon  as  possible,  these  letters 
of  acceptance,  kindly  setting  forth  that 
after  I  shall  have  been  duly  dismissed 
from  the  diocese  of  Laibach,  your  Lord- 


SAULT  677:.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


23 


ship  would  receive  me  among  the  mis- 
sionaries of  your  Diocese. 

Testimonials  and  other  documents  con- 
cerning my  age,  studies,  etc.,  I  shall  not 
now  send  .to  your  Lordship,  because  they 
cannot  be  sent  without  great  expense  into 
so  distant  a  country.  When,  however, 
the  good  God,  who  has  given  me  this 
desire,  also  gives  the  chance  to  fulfill  it, 
I  shall  show  your  Lordship  all  the  docu- 
ments and  testimonials  at  my  own  hands. 
For  the  present  I  note  only  these  neces- 
saries: I  was  born  on  the  29th  of  June, 
1797  in  Illyria,  diocese  of  Laibach,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Austria.  My  studies  I  pur- 
sued partly  in  Laibach,  Illyria,  and 
Vienna,  Austria.  I  was  ordained  Sep- 
tember 21,  1S23.  I  speak  German.  II- 
lyrian,  Latin.  French,  Italian  and  Eng- 
lish. 

Commending  myself  to  your  Lordship 
for  a  pious  memento,  as  I  never  cease 
to  pray  for  my  most  reverend  future 
bishop. 

Frederic  Barraga, 
Assistant  priest  in  the  parish   of  Moett- 
ling,   Lower   Illyria.3 

Moettling,  November   13,   1829. 

On  the  seventh  anniversary  of  his  first 
Mass,  September  22,  1830,  he  received 
the  joyful  tidings  from  the  Vicar  General 
of  Cincinnati  that  he  would  be  accepted 
and  that  he  might  come  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Baraga  burst  forth  like  into  a  sec- 
ond Magnificat:  "Now  at  length  I  hear 
from  afar  a  voice,  which  invites  me  to 
come  to  the  holy  mission !" 

He  lost  no  time  communicating  his 
"good  success  to  the  Ordinary  of  Laibach 
and  received  in  reply  the  following  letter 


3  Original  in  the  archives  of  the  Notre  Dame 
University,  Ind. 


which  betrays  the  esteem  in  which  Baraga 
was  held  by  the  Clergy  and  the  Bishop: 

"Greeting  to  our,  in  Christ  beloved, 
Rev.  Frederic  Baraga,  secular  priest  of 
our  Diocese,  and  assistant  in  the  parish 
of  Moettling. 

"Whereas,  you  have  duly  advised  Us 
that  the  Very  Rev.  Frederick  Rese, 
Vicar  General  of  the  Diocese  of  Cincin- 
nati in  North  America,  by  letters  writ- 
ten to  you  on  the  13th  of  July  this  year 
has  invited  and  received  you  into  the  mis- 
sions of  said  Diocese,  We  greatly  praise 
your  zeal  which  has  so  long  imbued  you 
with  the  desire  of  being  sent  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  those  regions,  and  wishing  to 
encourage  priests,  as  much  as  it  is  in  Our 
power,  whose  desire  it  may  be  to  be  sent 
out  for  the  sake  of  the  Gospel,  We  there- 
fore release  you,  the  aforesaid  Rev.  Fred- 
eric Baraga,  secular  priest,  with  an  ach- 
ing yet  a  benevolent  heart,  from  every 
tie  which  has  heretofore  held  you  to  our 
Diocese  and  by  these  presents  We  for- 
ever dismiss  you  into  the  Diocese  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  consider  you  dismissed  for- 
ever out  of  our  Diocese  of  Laibach.  and 
We  transfer  all  Our  right  and  authority 
which  We  had  in  you,  to  the  Most  Illus- 
trious and  Most  Rev.  Bishop  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  at  the  same  time  attest  that, 
ever  since  the  year  1823,  when  you  have 
received  in  Our  Cathedral  at  Laibach  the 
sacred  order  of  the  Presbyterate,  you 
have,  as  assistant  pastor,  given  yourself 
uninterruptedly  to  the  care  of  souls,  the 
preaching  of  the  divine  word  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Sacrament  of  Pen- 
ance, in  the  different  parishes  of  this  Dio- 
cese, and  in  the  fulfilling  of  this  holy  of- 
fice you  have  so  much  excelled  by  your 
sound  judgment,   good  morals,   piety   in 


24 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


religious  exercises,  generosity  towards 
the  poor,  and  blamelessness  of  life,  that 
you  have  fully  merited  the  esteem  and 
love  of  the  clergy  and  Our  good  will. 
Therefore,  parting  from  Us  under  no  ec- 
clesiastical censures  or  canonical  strict- 
ures, but  with  good  and  laudable  habits. 
We  commend  you,  in  the  Lord,  to  the 
favor  of  the  Most  Illustrious  and  Most 
Rev.  Bishop  who  has  received  you,  and 
to  all  to  whom  you  may  come. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  signed 
these  letters  of  dismissal  and  commenda- 
tion as  well,  and  have  ordered  Our  great 
seal  affixed  to  them.  Given  from  Our 
Episcopal  residence  at  Laibach,  the  _'8th 
of  September,  1830. 

(Signed)  Antonius  Aloysius, 

Bishop. 
James  Praprotnik, 
Notary  of  the  Episcopal  Office.4 

Having  completed  preparations  for  the 
l<mg   journey,    Baraga   bade   farewell   to 
home  and  relations  on  October  29th,  and  * 
t<  11  ik  passage  in  a  stage-coach  for  Vienna, 


where  he  arrived  early  in  the  morning  of 
November  1st — the  feast  of  All  Saints, 
1830.  His  reception  was  a  cordial  one.  Be- 
sides many  gifts,  useful  for  missions,  from 
the  Viennese,  he  received  four  hundred 
florins  ( about  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
American  dollars)  from  the  Leopoldine 
Society.  Departing  from  Vienna  on  the 
twelfth,  he  arrived,  by  the  way  of  Mu- 
nich. Strassburg  and  Paris,  at  Havre,  on 
the  27th  of  November   (1830). 

His  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  on  a  sail 
boat,  occupied  exactly  thirty  days.  \\  ith 
the  exception  of  one  and  a  half  days  the 
weather  was  favorable  enough.  None 
the  worse  for  the  experience  as  a  deck 
passenger  and  from  sea-sickness,  he  re- 
gained his  natural  humor  and  good  feel- 
ing as  soon  as  he  stepped  on  the  soil  of 
the  New  World  in  New  York.  December 
31st,  1830,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 
His  first  thoughts,  after  rehabilitating 
himself  for  a  few  days  of  rest,  was  his 
anxious  sisters,  and  January  2nd  he  ad- 


'  Dilecto  Nobis  in  Christo  Rdo  Dno  Friderico 
Baraga  Dioceseos  Nostrae  Presbytero  Saeculari 
et   Cooperatori   Parochiae  Moettlicensis  Salutern ! 

Cum  Nos  legitime  docueris,  Te  a  Reverendis- 
simo  Domino  Friderico  Rese  Vicario  Generali 
Diocesis  Cincinnatensis  in  America  Septentrionali 
per  litteras  die  13.  Julii  hujus  anni  ad  Te  datas; 
fuisse  invitatum  et  receptum  pro  Missionibus  is- 
tius  Dioecesis,  Nos  zelum  Tmun,  quo  in  Mission- 
arium  ditionum  illarum  deligi  et  mini  jam  diu 
constanter  desideras  summopere  laudantes',  et 
Pi  ;byteris  I  vangelii  causa  mittendis  pro  viribus 
1  ulere  cupientes,  Te  antefatum  R.  D.  Frider- 
icum  Baraga  Sacerdotem  Saecularem  a  vinculo, 
quo  huic  Nostrae  Diocesi  Labacensi  hucusque 
adstrictus  fuisti,  dolenti  puidem  sed  benevolo  an- 
imo  hisce  absolvimus,  Teque  ad  Dioecesim  Cin- 
cinnatensem  tenore  praesentium  in  perpetuum 
dimittimus,  a  e  Oiocesi  Nostra  Labacensi  per- 
petuo  dimissum  declaramus,  omne  jus  et  auctor- 
itatem,  quam  hactenus  in  Te  habuimus,  in  Illus- 
trissimum  et  Reverendissimum  Dominum  Epis- 
copum  Cincinnatensem  transferentes  simulque  at- 
testantes,  Te  ab  ami"  1823,  quo  in  cathedral!  Nos- 
tra Labacensi  Sacrum  Presbyteratus  ordinem  sus- 


ceperas,  incessanter  curae  animarum,  praedica- 
tioni  verbi  divini  et  administrationi  sacri  poen- 
itentiae  Tribunalis  in  diversis  hujus  Diocesis  par- 
ochiis  qua  Sacerdotem  Subsidiarium  insudasse,  et 
in  obeundo  hoc  munere  sancto,  maturitate  spiritus. 
compositione  morr.m,  pietate  in  religionis  exer- 
citiis,  beneficentia  erga  egenos,  vitaeque  inno- 
centia  ila  excelluisse.  ut  Cleri  aestimationem  et 
amorem,  Nostramque  Tibi  concilliaveris  benevol- 
entiam,  quare  Te  .1  Nobis  discedentem  nulla  cen- 
sura  ecclesiastica  aut  impedimento  canonico  irre- 
titum  in  bonis  laudabilisque  moribus  instructum 
Ulustrissimi  et  Reverendissimi  Domini  receptoris 
Tui,  omniumque  ad  quos  perveneris,  favoribus 
perimpense  in  Domino  commendamus. 

In  quorum  fidem  praesentes  propriae  manus 
subscriptione  firmatas  et  majoris  sigilli  adposi- 
tione  roboratas  extradari  jussimus  litteras  dimis- 
soriales  simulque  commendatitias. 

Ex  Residentia  Nostra  episcopali  Labaci  die  28. 
Seplembris  1830. 

Antonius  Aloysius     . 
(Sigillum)  Episcopus. 

Jac.    Praprotnik. 
Officii  Episcopalis  Notarius. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


2S 


dressed    to    Amalia    an    account    of    his     ters  of  recommendation.     At  this  priest's 

transatlantic  voyage.  request  Baraga  delivered,  in  German,  his 

In  New  York  our  Baraga  spent  four     first  sermon  in  America,  on  January  9th. 


THE    CHURCH    OF    ST.     GEORGE     IN     DOEBERNIG     WHERE    BISHOP 
BARAGA    WAS    BAPTIZED. 

days.  January  4th  he  left  for  Philadel-  183 1.  In  Baltimore  he  was  received  with 
phia,  where  he  was  received  most  cor-  like  paternal  kindness  by  the  Archbishop, 
dially  by  a  priest,  to  whom  he  carried  let-      the  Most  Rev.  James  Whitford.     Leav- 


26 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ing  Baltimore  on  the  12th  he  reached,  by 
way  of  Columbus,  on  the  18th  of  Jan- 
uary, the  end  of  his  journey — Cincinnati. 
A  total  of  sixty-seven  days  from  Vienna 
to  Cincinnati. 

At  Cincinnati  a  new  life  began  for  Bar- 
aga. Besides  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop,  five 
priests  and  four  theologians  lived  in  the 
same  house.  The  daily  life  was  similar 
to  that  of  a  regular  community,  with  the 
Bishop  as  Superior.  Meals  were  in  com- 
mon and  so  were  the  prayers ;  and  in  the 
work  they  all  shared,  each  according  to 
his  fitness.  Father  Baraga  was  suffi- 
ciently conversant  with  the  English  lan- 
guage to  perform  ordinary  duties,  al- 
though, he  could  not  as  yet  preach  in  it. 
There  was  a  German  portion  of  the  con- 
gregation in  the  city,  and  they  employed 
him  in  the  ministry  there,  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  his  ambitions.  Nothing,  how- 
ever, could  dampen  his  ardor.  Among 
the  theological  students  there  was  a  full- 
blooded  Ottawa  Indian,  William  Maka- 
tebinessi,  who  became  Baraga's  instructor 
in  the  Indian  language,  because  soon 
after  his  arrival  he  disclosed  to  his 
Bishop,  the  desire  to  consecrate  himself 
to  the  Indian  missions.  '  Besides  the  or- 
dinary priestly  functions,  therefore,  Bar- 
aga studied  English  and  Indian.  Who 
was  more  delighted  than  the  good  Bishop 
Fenwick!  He  promised  Fr.  Baraga  that 
with  the  first  of  spring  he  would  take  him 
along,  north,  to  the  Indian  mission,  his 
future  field  of  labor.  The  three  months, 
which  Baraga  spent  at  Cincinnati,  were 
well  spent  in  acquiring  as  much  as  pos- 
sible of  that  terrible  yard-long  Indian  vo- 
cabulary. The  day  for  departure  was  set. 
We  let  Father  Baraga  tell,  in  his  own 
words,  of  this  most  interesting  trip  from 


Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  Arbre  Cfoche,  Mich- 
igan. 

This  letter  he  wrote  from  his  new  mis- 
sion to  the  Leopoldine  Society  on  the 
J2nd  of  August,  183 1. 

"On  the  2 1  st  of  April,  this  year,  I  set 
out  from  Cincinnati  for  the  mission  as- 
signed to  me.  For  the  sake  «f  a  more 
complete  narrative,  I  must  mention  here  a 
few  things  regarding  the  indefatigable 
zeal  for  the  cause  of  God  of  my  Vener- 
able Bishop,  which  in  his  humility,  he 
passed  over  in  silence  in  his  former  com- 
munication to  the  Leopoldine  Society. 
For  the  welfare  of  the  missions  among 
the  savages,  the  Bishop  decided  to  make 
with  me  the  whole  trip  from  Cincinnati 
to  Arbre  Croche.  The  Indians  of  his 
region  know  him,  because  he  had  been 
here  once  before,  and  they  call  him  the 
Great  Black-robe,  or  the  High  Priest,  and 
have  great  respect  for  as  well  as  un- 
bounded confidence  in  him.  It  was,  there- 
fore, very  advantageous  that  he  came 
with  me  and  installed  me  in  their  midsts. 

"The  distance  from  Cincinnati  to  this 
mission  station  is  at  least  as  great  as 
that  from  Vienna  to  Naples. 

"Bishop  Fenwick  desired  me  to  leave 
Cincinnati  a  couple  of  weeks  before  him 
in  order  to  look  up,  on  the  way,  where 
there  are  no  priests.  Catholic  families  and 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  perform  their 
Easter  duty.  In  a  small  town,  called  Mi- 
amisburg,  thirty-five  miles  from  Cincin- 
nati, I  found  the  first  Catholics,  and  they 
were  Germans.  I  staid  there  a  few  days, 
said  Mass,  preached  three  times,  and 
heard  confessions.  I  learned  there  that 
there  was  another  Catholic  family  twelve 
miles  from  Miamisburg,  whither  I  be- 
took myself  and  found  an  honorable  man 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


27 


with  his  worthy  "wife  and  six  children. 
The  good  people  were  delighted  at  my 
coining,  and  prepared  for  their  Easter 
confessions,  receiving,  together  with  their 
two  older  children,  Holy  Communion 
next  morning.  I  held  services  in  a  large 
room  of  the  house. 

"In  the  neighborhood  live  many  Ger- 
mans who  are  Protestants  but  who,  nev- 
ertheless, gladly  hear  the  word  of  God, 
even  though  preached  by  a  Catholic 
priest.  This  man  had  informed  his 
neighbors  that  a  Catholic  priest  had  ar- 
rived— I  was,  as  they  told  me,  the  first 
Catholic  priest  who  ever  came  to  that 
region — and  thus  many  assembled  to  hear 
the  sermon.  They  were  satisfied  with  the 
doctrine  announced,  but  no  tree  falls  with 
the  first  stroke. 

"Next  day,  this  man  conducted  me 
three  miles  farther  into  the  woods  to  a 
venerable  old  Irishman.  I  was  informed 
that  this  poor  old  man,  of  eighty-one 
years,  had  been  living  a  long  time  in 
that  wilderness,  and  that  he  was  now 
almost  blind  and  deaf,  and  likely  had  no 
chance  for  many  years  to  receive  the 
sacraments.  The  evening  before  my  in- 
tended visit  I  sent  a  boy  to  tell  him  that 
a  priest  would  come  next  morning  to  hear 
his  confession  and  give  him  Holy  Com- 
munion, at  which  news,  the  good  old  man 
rejoiced  greatly.  In  the  morning  I  went 
there  and  found  him  in  a  miserable  hut. 
In  this  shanty  resides  with  him  his  wife, 
three  other  women,  and  five  children. 
The  poor  old  man  who  had  not  seen  a 
priest  for  more  than  fifty  years,  received 
the  holy  sacraments  of  which  he  had 
stood  in  need  for  so  long  a  time.  The 
other   inhabitants   of   this   hut,   were   not 


Catholics.  I  was  heartily  glad  to  have 
been  able  to  give  spiritual  help  to  this 
poor  old  man  who  stands  at  the  door  of 
eternity. 

"God  gave  me  in  addition  another  in- 
effable consolation.  As  above  remarked, 
there  were  five  small  children  of  different 
mothers  in  this  hut.  and  I  learned  that 
none  of  them  had  as  yet  been  baptized. 
Their  mothers,  unfortunate  creatures, 
profess  no  religion,  and  consequently  did 
not  trouble  themselves  about  having  their 
offspring  baptized,  as  there  are  many 
such  individuals  in  this  wild  and  all-too- 
free  country.  Besides,  no  priest  had  ever 
before  penetrated  this  wilderness.  When 
I  proposed  to  them  to  baptize  their  chil- 
dren, two  of  the  mothers  immediately 
consented,  but  the  third  one  acquiesced 
only  after  a  while,  and  then  I  proceeded 
with  the  baptismal  function.  I  thanked 
God  most  heartily  and  begged  him,  if  it 
were  His  will,  to  take  to  Himself  all  or 
some  of  these  poor  innocent  creatures, 
who  have  now  become  his  children,  or  to 
let  them  become  more  happily  situated 
than  they  are  at  present.  ■ 

"I  then  returned  to  Miamisburg  and 
journeyed  further  to  another,  quite  a 
large  city  named  Dayton.  Here  I 
awaited  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick, 
and  in  the  meantime  performed  mission- 
ary duties  in  the  city.  There  are  but  few 
Catholics  there,  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  few.  all  are  lukewarm. 

"On  the  first  of  May  I  said  Mass  in 
the  Catholic  house  where  I  was  staying, 
and  in  the  afternoon  I  preached  in  a  Pro- 
testant church.  There  are  many  Ger- 
mans here  of  all  sects.  It  appeared  to  me 
very  singular  to  preach  in  a  Protestant 
church,  before  a  Protestant  congregation. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


i.  <5s)§.  l 


^3 


a 

o 

3 


O 
O 

o 
o 


0>       n> 
3        g- 


3        ? 


o 
o 


s 

ft 


p 


3 

» 


.         3 

&  1 


C/3 


> 

CO 

> 
o 
m 
•z 

en 

I— c 

on 

CO 


H 
> 

a 

to        C/5 


50 


z 

H 

a 
>    > 

C      O 


a 

H 


> 

O 
on 

H 

O 


H 

O 
f 

o 

>    o    t- 

c  fe   o 

I  g  fc 

O     l-i 

po 


r     H     ^3 

£  o 

&  2 

H    G 

H 
i— i 
en 


H 


C/0 


o 

> 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXL>  MARQUETTE 


29 


and  without  surplice  or  stole.  Alas!  it 
is  really  a  misery  the  way  religion  fares 
in  this  country.  In  addition  to  the  many 
sects,  one  finds  everywhere  a  great  num- 
ber of  real  atheists,  who  are  neither  bap- 
tized nor  profess  any  kind  of  faith  or  re- 
ligion. Among  them,  many  good  natured 
people  are  to  be  found,  who  have  grown 
up  in  this  sad  state,  only  through  the  neg- 
lect of  their  parents,  and  for  want  of 
priests,  and  they  remain  so,  because  they 
know  no  better.  Many  of  these  unhappy 
individuals  could  be  easily  gained  for 
God  and  the  Church,  if  there  was  but  a 
priest  to  instruct  them.  I  was  tempted  to 
ask  ni}-  Bishop  to  let  me  always  travel 
around  in  the  country  and  seek  such  lost 
souls  with  whom  I  could  remain  until 
they  were  thoroughly  instructed,  baptized 
and  strengthened  in  the  practice  of  their 
faith.  How  many  souls  might  I  not  gain 
for  God !  I  deliberated  earnestly  upon 
this  matter,  when  yet  in  Cincinnati,  with 
the  Very  Rev.  Vicar  General  Rese,  but 
he  told  me  that  it  would  be  better  and 
still  more  beneficial  to  go  to  the  savages, 
for  the  prospects  there  were  brighter  still. 
Hence,  all  I  can  do  in  this  regard  is  to 
pra_\  to  the  Lord  that  he  may  soon  send 
more  laborers  into  this  abandoned  part 
of  the  vineyard,  that  after  all,  so  many 
souls,  redeemed  with  his  precious  blood, 
may  not  perish. 

"From  Dayton,  I  accompanied  the 
Bishop  to  Detroit  where  we  arrived  on 
the  1 5th  of  May,  and  staid  there  five  days. 
In  this  city  there  are  many  French  and 
German  Catholics,  and  I  spent  my  time 
in  preaching  and  hearing  confessions. 
From  Detroit  we  journeyed  by  water  to 
Michillimackinac,  from  where,  after  a 
short   stay,   I   departed   for  my  mission, 


and  arrived  on  the  28th  of  May  at  Arbre 

Croche,  and  shortly  thereafter  my  Bishop 

came.     Happy  day  which  led  me  among 

these  savages  with  whom  I  shall  spend 

all  my  life,  if  such  be  the  most  holy  will 

of  God.5 

I  will  send  a  Prophet  to  you 

A   Deliverer   of  the  nations 

Who   shall  guide  you  and   shall  teach  you 

Who  shall  toil  and  suffer  with  you.  8 

Arbre  Croche,  or  Crooked  Tree,  was 
called  Waganakisi  in  the  Ottawa  dialect 
and  is  at  the  present  day  Harbour  Spring, 
of  Emmet  county,  Lower  Michigan.  In 
1829,  Bishop  Fenwick  revived  the  old 
Jesuit-mission  and  sent  Rev.  Leter  John 
Dejean,  a  French  secular  priest,  as  the 
first  stationary  missionary.  This  priest 
had  done  excellent  work  in  his  new  com- 
mission; not  only  had  he  revived  the 
faith  among  those  who  had  some  limited 
knowledge  of  Christianity,  but  had  also 
instructed  many  in  the  faith  and  baptized 
them.  Several  buildings  were  put  up  dur- 
ing his  pastorate,  a  church  fifty  four  feet 
in  length  and  fifty  feet  wide,  a  parsonage 
with  three  rooms  and  a  large  room  used 
fur  school  accommodations,  boys  and 
girls  separately  receiving  instructions 
from  two  lady  teachers.  All  these  build- 
ings were  of  logs,  poorly  enough  con- 
structed, so  that  Baraga  had  to  spread 
his  cloak  over  his  books  and  the  umbrella 
over  his  bed,  to  keep  his  friends  and 
himself  from  getting  wet  in  rainy  weath- 
er. But  they  were  buildings,  a  great  step 
toward  civilization !  Father  Dejean  had 
returned  to  his  native  France  on  account 
of  personal  affairs.  Baraga,  upon  his 
succession  to  the  mission,  makes  the  fol- 


c  Berichte   der   Loepoldinen   Stiftung,   IV.,  pp. 


5-9- 


6  Hiawatha. 


30 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


lowing  entry   in    Latin   in   the   baptismal 
record : 

"On  the  28th  day  of  May,  in  the  year 
1 83 1,  the  Most  Illustrious  and  Reverend 
Edward  Dominic  Fenwick,  Bishop  of 
Cincinnati,  brought  me,  the  undersigned, 
a  secular  priest  born  in  Illyria,  a  province 
of  the  Austrian  Empire,  here,  to  per- 
form the  office  of  a  missionary  among 
the  Indians  of  the  region.  He.  himself, 
the  Most  Illustrious  and  Rev.  Bishop,  re- 
mained here  from  the  above-named  day 
until  the  3d  of  June,  in  which  time  he 
baptized  two  adults  and  twenty-six  chil- 
dren. 

"My  predecessor.  Rev.  Peter  John  De- 
jean,  a  French  secular  priest,  whom  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick  sent  here  in 
the  year  1829,  baptized  very  many  adults 
and  children,  being  the  first  missionary 
staying  and  residing  here,  but  he  had  no 
Baptismal  Register;  for  which  reason  this 
begins  only  from  the  29th  day  of  May, 
1831. 

"Note.  By  the  name :  Arbre  Croche  is 
meant,  in  this  book,  the  village  here, 
where  the  Indians  built  the  parochial 
church  of  St.  Peter  and  the  dwelling- 
house  for  the  missionary.  By  the  name 
of  Arbre  Croche  are  meant,  however,  all 
the  dwelling  places  of  the  Indians  from 
the  place  'of  the  parochial  church  to  the 
chapel  of  St.  Paul,  which  dwelling  places 
are  comprehended  in  the  Indian  name; 
Waganakisi." 

Frederic  Baraga, 

Priest." 

Later  Father  Pierz  added : 

"The  church  of  Arbre  Croche,  lately 
built  by  the  Indians  alone,  was  lawfully 
blessed  by  me,  the  undersigned,  mission- 


ary of  this  place,  on  the  25th  day  of  May 
1 85 1,  in  virtue  of  episcopal  delegation,  in 
honor  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  youth 
in  the  temple. 

Francis  Pierz, 
Roman  Catholic  Missionary." 

And  this  was  annotated  by  Bishop  Bar- 
aga: 

"Wherefore  this  mission  shall  be  called 
hereafter  'Missio  S.S.  Adolescentiae 
Jesu.' 

•J*   Frederic, 

Bishop." 

In  this  new  sphere  Baraga's  zeal  turned 
especially  towards  conversions.  In  the 
first  two  and  a  half  months  he  baptized 
seventy-two  adults  and  children.  Accom- 
panied by  his  interpreter,  he  made  daily 
excursions  in  different  directions  entering 
the  bark  wigwams  they  chanced  to  find 
along  the  route.  He  thus  soon  acquainted 
himself,  not  only  with  the  locality  but 
with  the  people  as  well ;  he  learned  to 
know  his  children  and  the  pagan  Indians. 
When  he  encountered  resistance  he  re- 
doubled his  zeal  and  not  without  success 
for  already  during  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1 83 1,  conversions  were  so  many  that 
nearly  all  the  people  were  either  con- 
verted or  under  instructions.  He  wrote 
under  date  of  January  4th,  1832:  "It 
is  to  my  great  consolation,  and  pleasure 
to  be  here,  where  I  see,  day  after  day, 
how  deeply  affected  are  these  poor  sav- 
ages by  the  grace  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
•who  gave  His  life  for  His  sheep,  and  who 
wishes  that  all  men  be  saved.  This  sum- 
mer and  fall  many  savages  have  been  con- 
verted, so  that  there  are  few  who  have 
not  yet  been  christened  or  are  not  prepar- 
ing for  baptism.  Xow,  in  the  winter- 
season,  there  are  few  baptisms,  because 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE  31 


n/ttwrc*4vffi>™*     f%L  ******     als<rm^*a      £2uwro*    ^Tm$nA         tf/fjufitt 


E«/»*7     'Am     'fen^jjrre     O.rct'H&./ji.in+L.rK       in     Jlttt-mtr     J£ry£++        ^;JtU**^ 


/  '  s 


p,c*.      A^i^t     in.      t'imtll.-S    t/y    :n       im^W       n«n&.S      l>tJt"^V/     {£^<\S W-"   £)t*\c*6U4cA\ 

y.<<&!<    ~c*    »«0»».' retU*^ ,    «4(,«(.    eapotcd***    ^.*«./i/<t»Ji    ,;<^0    . 

-v  r?,     ■  s  /  -,        .  ,  , 

c-4    t£.~~.     a-^    •^^•■.    » '"^rMifcrr    n*£r*     t4£*~*/,    hJ v# U&.    'lie    •£  &#. 

#*<k    yUc    u^J^&^a.  j^4&   ,    ,^  „     ^'(M,J;rt  ydlrA    /JUr*t  accyef.  , 
&U*t  ptt^S     tjfi^rt     }at*~^7        J%ye    ^,    .    tf^trc^Ji^*.     \3U^k 


£5 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


>f/Ul'£^  OU    /».  P)£*»~Sr*    /SZj. 


1  •    fZfiSyrt*     tsvt^&ri+T*. 

'   •  / 

FACSIMILE    OF    LETTER    WRITTEN    BY    FREDERICK    EARAGA    TO    BISHOP    FEN  WICK 
ASKING    FOR    ADMISSION     INTO    THE    DIOCESE    OF    CINCINNATI. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


33 


exactly  those  savages  who  are  heathens 
vet,  emigrate  during  the  winter.  Heathen 
savages  have  no  permanent  habitation, 
they  live  in  tents,  which  they  take  along 
in -canoes  and  put  them  up  now  here,  now 
there.  In  the  winter  they  go  to  the 
south  side  of  the  big  Michigan  Lake 
where  they  spend  their  time  hunting  and 
fishing.  In  spring  and  summer  they  re- 
turn, and  then  I  hope,  with  the  help  of 
God,  again  many  will  be  converted.  I 
am  only  sorry  that  in  this  place  there  are 
so  few  inhabitants.  The  savages  of  my 
station,  will  soon,  I  hope,  all  be  Chris- 
tians, except  some  bad  ones  who  boldly 
resist  the  Christian  truth.  After  they  are 
all  converted,  I  shall,  with  permission  of 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop,  betake  myself  to 
another  place,  where  there  are,  as  I  cer- 
tainly know,  many  savages,  who  are  long- 
ing after  the  Bread  of  Life,  and  there  is 
no  one  to  break  it  to  them,  because,  as  I 
hear,  they  have  no  missionary.  That 
place  is  very  far  to  the  north  from  here, 
and  I  have  decided  to  go  after  those  lost 
sheep  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  if  it  be  His 
holy  will.  Here.  I  have  but  one  priest  in 
the  neighborhood,  all  other  missionaries 
are  from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred 
miles  away,  and  the  further  north  one 
goes  the  fewer  missionaries  does  he  find, 
and  the  more  savages.  O,  how  glad  and 
thankful  I  am  to  God,  that  I  have  left  the 
country,  which  has  an  abundance  of 
priests,  and  have  come  hither  where  my 
priestly  neighbors  are  scattered  hundreds 
of  miles  from  each  other.  If  some  of 
my  younger  fellow-priests  knew  what 
happiness  missionaries  of  savages  enjoy, 
and  what  occasions  they  find  to  labor  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  fellowmen. 
some  of  them  would  certainly,  despite  the 


hardships  and  dangers,  come  to  this  coun- 
try, where  the  word  of  God  is  preached 
to  heathens,  that  by  the  grace  of  God, 
they  may  become  Catholics  and  arrive  at 
the  life  everlasting.7 

During  the  winter,  which  he  found  ex- 
tremely long  and  severe,  Baraga  applied 
himself  to-  the  study  of  the  Ottawa  lan- 
guage. With  the  assistance  of  his  inter- 
preter, a  full-blooded  Ottawa,  but  who 
spoke  French  exceptionally  well,  he  tried 
to  fit  it  to  the  rudiments  of  a  modern 
grammar  and  dictionary,  but  this  work 
never  appeared  in  print.  It  was  a  source 
of  particular  joy  to  him  when  five  heath- 
en Indians  who,  during  the  preceding 
summer  had  stubbornly  refused  to  accept 
the  Christian  religion,  came  at  Christ- 
mas, and  of  their  own  accord  asked  to  be 
baptized.  He  had  always  hoped  that 
these,  too,  would  at  least  toward  spring, 
yield  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  but  to  his 
great  joy,  he  was  able  to  christen  them  on 
Xew  Year's  day.  This  brought  the  num- 
ber of  his  baptisms  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one,  and  many  of  these  venerable 
old  men,  who  before  were  his  open  ad- 
versaries, but  now  the  joy  of  his  heart 
and  examples  of  unfeigned  Christian  vir- 
tue. Another  joy  was  added  to  this.  A 
Christian  Indian  made  his  way  to  the 
village  and  narrated,  that  at  a  distance  of 
three  days'  journey,  there  were  many  In- 
dians, though  of  another  tribe,  who 
would  receive  Christianity,  if  they  had  a 
missionary.  Who  could  have  been  more 
happy  at  these  tidings  than  Baraga, 
whose  soul  was  burning  with  zeal  for 
new  conversions.  He  presented  this  mes- 
senger with  some  pictures,  charging  him 


TLeop.  Berichte,  IV. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


to  return  to  his  fellow  tribesmen  and  to 
do  all  in  his  power  to  keep  them  in  their 
good  resolution,  promising  to  come  to 
them  with  the  first  green  of  spring. 

Easter  fell  upon  the  2.2nd  of  April. 
Baraga  hastened  with  the  Easter  confes- 
sions of  his  parishioners,  and  soon  after 
set  out  for  Beaver  Island.  Here  is  his 
own  account  of  the  journey ;  dated  Arbre 
Croche,  July  1,  1832. 

"As  soon  as  my  parishioners  had  per- 
formed their  Easter  duty,  I  set  out  on 
my  journey  to  preach  to  these  poor  chil- 
dren of  nature  the  word  of  God,  which 
they  had  never  heard  from  the  lips  of  a 
priest.  First,  I  set  out  for  a  beautiful 
island  in  Lake  Michigan,  which  is  so  far 
from  the  main  land  that  it  can  be  seen 
only  like  a  fog.  This  island  is  quite 
large,  being  about  eight  miles  in  circum- 
ference and  is  called  Beaver  Island,  from 
the  many  beavers  found  there;  and  on  this 
is  a  small  village  of  savages  consisting 
of  eight  houses  built  of  bark.  The  prin- 
cipal source  of  support  of  these  islanders 
is  fishing  and  making  of  maple  sugar. 
Occasion  for  this  missionary  visit  was  an 
inhabitant  of  the  island,  who  had  come, 
last  winter,  to  Arbre  Croche  to  be  bap- 
tized. He  had  associated  with  Christians 
who  acquainted  him  with  their  religion, 
and  instructed  him  in  the  principles  of  it ; 
he  became  an  exemplary  Christian.  This 
good  man  returned,  after  his  baptism,  to 
the  island  and  through  him  I  sent  word 
to  the  islanders,  that  in  spring  I  would 
visit  them  and  preach  the  word  of  God  to 
them,  because  he  had  assured  me  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Beaver  Island  would 
be  very  happy  to  see  a  priest  in  their 
midst.     There  were  many  who  doubted 


the  success  of  the  undertaking,  but  I  set 
out  confiding  in  the  Lord,  who  had  said 
that  He  will  be  with  His  servants  till  the 
end  of  time. 

"My  heart  beat  palpably  as  we  ap- 
proached the  Island.  I  had  a  white  flag 
with  a  red  cross  in  the  centre,  which  I 
unfurl  when  going  to  a  mission  so  as  to 
make  the  boat  of  the  Missionary  recog- 
nizable. We  had  favorable  wind  when 
sailing  towards  the  Island.  The  friendly 
banner  of  the  cross  floated  lovely  in  the 
breeze,  and  announced  the  coming  of  the 
minister  of  the  Crucified.  As  soon  as  the 
Islanders,  who,  like  all  savages,  have  a 
remarkably  keen  sight,  noticed  and  recog- 
nized my  flag  in  the  distance,  the  chief 
caused  his  flag  to  be  immediately  hoisted 
over  his  wigwam.  My  Indians  from  Ar- 
bre Croche,  who  accompanied  me,  noticed 
the  flag  of  the  head-chief  and  interpreted 
this  as  a  very  good  sign,  which  made  me 
feel  at  ease. 

"Finally,  when  we  approached  Beaver 
Island,  I  saw  many  of  the  savages  hasten 
to  the  shore.  Almost  all  the  inhabitants 
gathered  there  to  bid  us  welcome.  The 
men  fired  a  double  salute  with  their  guns, 
as  an  expression  of  joy  over  the  arrival 
of  the  Missionary.  Scarcely  had  I  step- 
ped ashore,  when  all  the  men  came  and 
shook  hands  with  me  as  a  sign  of  wel- 
come. They  conducted  me  to  their  vil- 
lage, composed  of  eight  miserable  birch 
bark  wigwams.  I  first  entered  the  hut 
of  the  head-chief,  where  a  goodly  number 
of  the  poor  savages  had  assembled  who 
could  not  satisfy  themselves  gazing  at 
the  Black-robe,  for  they  had  never  seen 
a  priest  before. 

"When  you  have  any  business  to  tran- 
sact with  the  Indians  of  this  country,  you 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


35 


must  observe  certain  formalities.  Hence, 
I  did  not  tell  them  immediately  what  I 
came  to  say  to  them,  but  conversed  on 
different  subjects,  and  at  last  requested 
the  head-chief  to  convene  a  grand  coun- 
cil next  day  when  we  would  bespeak  im- 
portant matters.  Xext  day  all  assembled 
and  I  made  a  speech,  in  which  I  briefly 
and  clearly  pointed  out  to  them  the  neces- 
sity and  utility  of  the  Christian  religion. 


the  i  ith  of  May, — happy  day — I  baptized 
twenty-two  of  those  savages. 

"From  there  I  went  to  another  village, 
which  is  two  days'  journey  from  Beaver 
Mand,  on  the  other  side  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan, in  the  territory  of  the  Northwest. 
1  had,  as  I  communicated  to  you  before, 
an  opportunity  last  winter  to  send  word 
to  those  savage  villagers  that  I  would 
visit  them  in  the  spring.     Hence,  when  I 


RT.    REV.    EDWARD    FENWICK,    I'.ISHOP   OF   CINCINNATI. 


and  in  conclusion  requested  the  head-chief 
to  answer  me.  He  did  so,  through  his 
speaker,  assuring  me,  that  they  were 
really  pleased,  and  considered  themselves 
happy  to  have  a  priest  on  their  Island, 
and  that  they  desired  most  earnestly  to 
embrace  the  Christian  religion.  One  can 
imagine  what  joy  filled  the  heart  of  the 
missionary  at  this  reply !  I  remained  with 
them  sometime  instructing  them,  and  on 


arrived  there,  they  received  me  in  a  most 
friendly  manner,  and  rejoiced  exceed- 
ingly at  the  coming  of  the  missionary. 
The  good  disposition  and  intention  of 
these  poor  savages  who  had  remained 
pagans  so  long,  solely,  because  no  mis- 
sionary had  ever  come  to  them,  filled  my 
heart  with  inexpressible  sadness  mingled 
with  joy.  I  was  deeply  moved  and  sur- 
prised when  I  saw,  that  these  good  peo- 


36 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


pie,  in  whose  hearts  the  anticipating  grace 
of  vocation  to  the  holy  faith  had  worked 
so  mightily,  had  begun  to  build,  after 
their  own  fashion,  a  little  church  of  logs 
and  bark,  even  before  I  had  come  to  them. 
They  had  not  expected  that  I  would  ful- 
fill my  promise  of  coming  to  see  them  so 
si  ii  m,  and  for  this  reason  their  church  had 
ii'  it  yet  been  completed.  When  I  saw 
them  working  so  diligently  at  their 
church  I,  too.  as  best  I  could,  began  to 
work,  and  my  nine  companions,  encour- 
aged by  my  example,  aided  in  the  good 
work  and  we  finished  the  church  that 
very  day.  The  next  day  I  called  them  all 
together  and  having  first  blessed  the 
church,  I  read  holy  Mass  in  it  and 
preached.  With  what  deep  emotion  and 
gratitude  to  God  I  performed  these  eccles- 
iastical ceremonies  I  cannot  describe !  The 
thought,  that  in  this  forlorn  place,  in  the 
midst  of  primeval  forest,  where  but  lately 
only  the  cry  of  the  savage  was  heard  and 
idolatrous  sacrifices  offered  to  the  wicked 
spirit,  there  now  stands  a  temple  of  the 
living  God,  in  which  the  Immaculate 
Lamb  of  God  is  offered  to  the  Heavenly 
Father.  This  thought  affected  me  so 
strongly,  that  I  shed  tears  of  deepest  emo- 
tion and  could  not  find  words  to  express 
my  thanks  to  God.  Happy  are  we  that 
He  needs  not  the  expression  of  wrords, 
for 'He  sees  our  hearts.  This  little  church 
is  built  of  logs  and  bark  and  lacks  every- 
thing that  might  please  the  eye  and  artis- 
tic taste,  yet  it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  more 
precious  temple,  than  so  many  churches 
in  Europe,  richly  decorated  with  gold  ami 
works  of  art,  but  desecrated  by  the  luke- 
warmness  and  misbehavior  of  those  who 
visit  them. 

"I  dedicated  this  little  church  to  the 


honor  of  God  under  the  title  of  His  Vir- 
gin Mother  Mary. 

"When  I  made  the  resolution  to  con- 
secrate my  life  to  the  (Indian)  Mission, 
I  promised  our  dear  heavenly  Mother, 
that  I  would  dedicate  the  first  church 
which  I  would  bless  among  the  savages, 
to  her  protective  name,  for  I  am  con- 
vinced that  she  continually  prays  to  her 
divine  Son  for  the  success  of  our  Mission. 

"I  remained  quite  a  long  time  with 
these  good  Savages,  instructing  them  in 
the  doctrine  of  religion  and  read  Mass 
every  day.  All  savages  of  this  place,  big 
and  small,  young  and  old,  embraced  the 
Christian  religion,  with  the  exception  of 
one,  to  whom  God,  on  account  of  his 
faults  seems  to  have  denied  the  grace  of 
faith.  He  is  unwilling  to  believe  any- 
body, except  his  very  weak  reason.  He 
stubbornly  maintains  that  he  had  lived 
on  earth  once  before,  that  this  is  his  sec- 
mid  life,  and  that  after  he  shall  have  end- 
ed it  he  would  go  to  where  his  pagan 
forefathers  are. 

"The  25th  of  May  was  for  these  savages 
a  happy  day,  on  which  they  were  regen- 
erated lay  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost  unto 
life  eternal.  I  baptized  there  nineteen 
pagans !  Thanks  be  to  the  Good  Shepherd 
who  has  so  mercifully  led  these  lost  sheep 
into  His  fold!  Thanks  be  also  to  Mary. 
the  loving  Mother  of  grace,  wdio  in- 
cessantly prays  for  the  conversion  of 
pagans. 

"After  Baptism  they  brought  to  me  all 
their  idolatrous  articles,  which  they  had 
hitherto  used  in  their  pagan  sacrifices.  I 
had  a  fire  kindled  and  burned  all  those 
abominations  of  paganism  as  a  holocaust 
to   Him,   the   Almighty,   the   Eternal,   to 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  .MARQUETTE 


37 


whom  alone  sacrifice  is  due  and  to  whom 
be  praise  and  glory  forever ! 

"Before  leaving  these  good  and  happy 
people,  I  distributed  among  them  a  good 
many  religious  pictures,  and  promised  to 
visit  them,  from  time  to  time,  in  order  to 
preserve  and  strengthen  them  in  the  Faith, 
which  consoled  them  very  much.  This 
place  of  Baraga's  visit  was  Indian  Lake 
near  Manistique. 

"From  there  I  returned  to  Beaver  Is- 
land, where  they  also  brought  me  all  ob- 
jects used  in  their  idolatrous  sacrifices 
which  I  likewise  burned.  The  converted 
inhabitants  determined  to  erect  a  small 
chapel.  For  the  present,  they  have  con- 
structed of  branches,  bark,  canvas  and 
mats  a  kind  of  chapel  in  which  I  daily 
read  Mass,  and  gave  thrice  a  day  instruc- 
tion in  catechism.  Six  more  pagans  were 
converted  and  baptized.  There  are  not 
man}-  pagans  however,  on  this  Island  who 
refuse  to  be  converted.  One  day  several 
of  these  came  to  my  tent,  a  piece  of  mat- 
ting fastened  to  their  waists,  being  their 
only  garment.  One  of  these  spoke  in  a 
shrill  monotonous  tone  making  a  very 
silly  speech,  in  which  he  declared  to  me, 
in  the  name  of  his  companions,  that  they 
would  not  embrace  the  Christian  religion, 
but  would  live  and  die  in  the  belief  of 
their  forefathers.  I  answered  him  gen- 
tly but  impressively,  and  hope  that  these, 
too,  shall  in  course  of  time  embrace  the 
truth. 

"I  then  returned  home.  The  Christians 
of  Arbre  Croche  rejoiced  very  much, 
when  they  learned  that  so  many  of  their 
red  brethren  had  now  embraced  the  Chris- 
tain  religion.  I  did  not  remain  at  home 
very  long,  but  set  out  for  the  third  village, 
pointed  out  to  me.  and  which  is  one  day 


and  a  half  journey  distant,  in  an  oppo- 
site direction,  notwithstanding  that  I  had 
learned  that  these  savages  were  outspoken 
enemies  of  the  Christian  religion.  The 
reason  is  this.  These  savages  are  incited 
t'  >  ami  kept  in  a  hostile  disposition  against 
religion  through  godless  traders,  who  visit 
them  often  and  bring  them  rum  for  their 
pelts.  These  godless  fur-traders  know 
only  too  well,  that  if  these  savages  em- 
brace Christianity,  they  must  forego  in- 
toxicants and  entirely  renounce  drunken- 
ness, to  which  all  pagan  savages  are  much 
addicted.  Now,  in  order  to  retain  a 
profitable  trade  with  the  savages,  they  en- 
deavor, in  every  possible  way,  to  make 
them  averse  to  Christianity  and  to  keep 
them  in  paganism.  However,  I  went 
there  and  spoke  to  them  of  the  Christian 
religion,  but  I  received  little  attention. 
Still  God  gave  me  the  consolation  of  not 
having  gone  there  entirely  in  vain.  There 
were  five  pagans  who  took  God's  call  to 
heart ;  they  were  instructed  and  baptized 
on  the  3d  of  June. 

"I  stayed  some  days  longer  with  them, 
giving  them  additional  instruction,  and 
read  Mass.  After  promising  to  visit  them 
again,  in  the  near  future,  I  returned  to 
Arbre  Croche  to  celebrate  Pentecost  with 
my  own  congregation. 

"But,  also,  here,  in  Arbre  Croche  the  in- 
finitely merciful  God  gives  me  unspeak- 
able consolation.  Almost  every  day,  es- 
pecially on  feast  days,  pagans  come  to 
me  asking  for  holy  Baptism.  On  Pente- 
cost Sunday  I  baptized  seven,  on  Monday 
fifteen.  God  be  praised  and  thanked  for 
all."8 

The  month  of  July  was,  as  a  rule,  a 
dull  month  for  missionary  work,  because 

8  Leop.  Berichte,  V.,  p.   11. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


M 


^M 


^  $  I 


fe 


O    =     s^  s     "     g 

t    1     ^  cj  ft 


t 

^  * 


E- 


2 
5 

s 


Q 


x 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


39 


most  Indians,  even  women  and  children 
went  to  Canada,  where  the  Government 
distributed  amongst  them  blankets,  cloth- 
ing, and  all  kinds  of  implements,  to  main- 
tain the  good  will  and  friendly  relation 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest.  Bar- 
aga encouraged  his  Indians  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  distribution,  because,  as  he 
thought,  the}'  thus  obtained  many  useful 
articles  of  clothing  and  tools,  which  they 
could  not  afford  to  buy  with  their  scanty 
trading  of  maple  sugar. 

But.  just  about  this  time,  information 
reached  Baraga  that  Bishop  Fenwick  was 
coming  to  Arbre  Croche  to  confirm.  He 
bade  his  Indians  to  postpone  the  journey 
to  Canada  until  after  the  Confirmation 
and  with  renewed  zeal  took  up  the  in- 
struction of  those  to  be  confirmed.  Not 
little  stress  did  he  lay  on  how  to  accord 
his  Bishop  a  worthy  reception.  The 
Bishop  arrived  on  the  second  of  August. 

Writing  to  the  Leopoldine  Society 
October  10,  1832,  Baraga  describes  it 
thus:  "It  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
heartfelt  joy  which  our  good  Indians 
showed  when  they  saw  their  Great  Father 
approaching  the  village.  They  assembled 
at  the  lake  shore  and  formed  a  double  file. 
In  one  row  were  the  men,  and  in  the 
other  the  women  and  children.  The  men 
fired  three  salutes  with  their  guns.  The 
unfeigned  manifestation  of  joy,  on  the 
part  of  these,  his  best  children,  greatly 
touched  the  pious  Bishop.  He  gave  us 
his  apostolic  blessing  and  then  had  the 
kindness  to  shake  hands  with  each  of 
them,  a  thing  the  Indians  regarded  as  a 
sign  of  great  friendship  and  favour.  We 
conducted  him  in  procession  to  the  church, 
where  after  making  his  adoration  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  he  made  a  touching 


address  to  the  Indians,  which  deeply  pen- 
etrated their  hearts.'"' 

August  5th,  Bishop  Fenwick  confirmed 
140  Indians,  adults  and  children,  and 
after  the  solemnities  he  convened  the 
chiefs,  all  most  exemplary  men  of  the  mis- 
sions. He  promulgated  some  civil  laws 
which  he  had  composed  for  the  Ottawas, 
which  they  accepted  most  willingly  and 
promised  to  observe.  The  missionary 
and  four  chiefs  were  made  the  executors 
of  those  laws. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Bishop.  Bar- 
aga hastened  to  visit  his  smaller  missions, 
which  he  had  established  the  preceding 
spring.  To  his  great  consolation  he  found 
his  converts  faithful.  In  Manistique  he 
.nl< led  to  their  number  five  new  ones,  and 
after  five  days  sojourn  there,  went  to 
Heaver  Island.  He  had  found  that  every 
where  the  converted  Indians  usually  at- 
tracted by  their  new  mode  of  living  other 
savages,  but  particularly  in  this  place 
many  were  preparing  for  holy  Baptism. 
O  raipleting  their  instructions,  he  baptized, 
on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  fifteen,  and  returned  to 
Arbre  Croche. 

By  this  time  great  flocks  of  Indians 
were  making  their  way  to  Canada.  Bar- 
aga availed  himself  of  their  absence  and 
journeyed  himself  to  Detroit,  to  have  his 
new  book,  a  combination  of  Prayer  book 
and  Catechism,  printed.  Bishop  Fenwick, 
when  last  in  Arbre  Croche,  had  given  Bar- 
aga two  hundred  and  twelve  dollars  of 
Leopoldine  Society's  money,  sufficient  for 
one  thousand  copies  of  this  prayer  book. 

There  was  a  book  of  this  kind  com- 
posed by  his  predecessor,  Dejean.  but  it 
contained    too    many    Algonquin    words, 

"  Leop.  Berichte.  V..  p.  35. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


which  his  Ottawas,  especially  now,  when 
most  of  them  had  learned  to  read,  could 
not  well  understand.  "O  how  I  heartily 
rejoice,"  writes  Baraga,  in  the  last  above 
quoted  letter,  "that  I  will  be  able  to  give, 
by  the  help  of  this  money,  into  the  hands 
of  my  Indians  so  necessary  a  book  of  de- 
votion !  These  grateful  people  likewise 
heartily  thanked  their  benefactors  in  the 
Austrian  States,  for  the  rosaries,  crosses, 
and  pictures.  I  could  also  say  without 
hesitation,  that  those  benefactors  would 
certainly  rejoice,  if  they  could  see  for 
themselves,  how  well  their  gifts  are  em- 
ployed, and  how  devoutly  the  recipients 
of  their  gifts  pray  to  God  for  them." 

Only  a  heart  like  Baraga's  is  capable  of 
such  emotions !  He  had  made  his  way  to 
Detroit  arriving  in  the  city,  August  29th, 
(1832).  Immediately  he  commenced  to 
busy  himself  with  the  printing  of  his 
book. 

Detroit  was  just  then  not  a  very  de- 
sirable place  tp  live  in.  It  was  infested, 
from  end  to  end,  together  with  the  sur- 
rounding country,  by  cholera.  "The  dan- 
ger occasioned  by  the  disease  made  all 
hearts  susceptible  to  truth ;  everybody 
wept;  all  hearts  took  refuge  in  repent- 
ance !  The  star  of  grace  shone  bril- 
liantly!"10 

Priests  were  busy  from  daybreak  till 
late  at  night — and  would  have  been  so 
all  night,  if  bodily  fatigue  did  not  compel 
them  to  seek  rest — comforting  the  dying 
and  burying  the  dead.  Father  Gabriel 
Richard,  Vicar  General  of  the  Michigan 
portion  of  the  Diocese,  was  pastor  o^  De- 
troit. His  merits  during  the  dreadful 
plague   are   written   adequately   only    in 


10  Father  Haetscher,  September  17,  1832.     An- 
nals VII.,  p.  29. 


Heaven,  though  human  gratitude,  too. 
has  raised  him  a  token  of  love  in  perpet- 
ual memory  of  his  self-sacrifice.  He  died 
of  cholera  on  the  13th  of  September.  Fa- 
ther Baraga  was  the  only  priest  present. 
Father  Francis  Haetscher  stepped  in  his 
place,  while  he  attended  to  the  sick  in  the 
vicinity.  Baraga  passed  the  time  between 
correcting  the  printer's  proof-sheets  of 
his  Indian  book  and  ministering  to  the 
plague-stricken,  in  the  city.  Hard  trials 
indeed!  He  was  bitterly  bewailing  the 
loss  of  his  friend  and  benefactor  when — 
only  thirteen  days  later — the  messenger 
brought  the  sad  news  of  the  demise  of  his 
so  much  beloved  Bishop  Edward  Fen- 
wick,  Under  date,  of  October  10,  1832, 
in  a  letter,  written  in  Detroit,  to  the  Leo- 
poldine  Society,  he  thus  gives  expression 
to  his  grief  and  sorrow  : 

"With  utmost  sorrow  I  inform  your 
Reverend  Board  of  Directors,  that  our 
most  respected  and  beloved  Bishop  Ed- 
ward Fenwick,  died  of  cholera  on  the 
26th  of  September.  As  a  zealous  mis- 
sionary he  always  lived  in  poverty,  and 
he  also  died  on  a  mission-tour,  like  St. 
Frances  Xavier,  poor  and  abandoned.  He 
was  on  his  way,  returning  from  a  mission 
and  visitation-tour,  such  as  he  annually 
makes «to  the  great  spiritual  benefit  of  his 
diocese,  when  all  of  a  sudden,  he  was 
seized  with  terrible  cramps.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  coach  and  enter  the 
house  of  a  Catholic  family.  The  nearest 
priest,  was  about  30  miles  away,  but 
was  immediately  sent  for;  when  he  ar- 
rived our  beloved  chief-pastor  was  dead 
and  buried !  Thus,  this  apostolic  man  de- 
parted this  life  without  the  services  of  a 
priest ;  for  in  order  not  to  deprive  any 
congregation   of  its  pastor,    he    usually 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


41 


■£%, 


53 


LECTURIS    SALUTEAf! 


Patentibus  hisce  Uteris  testor,^^^^^*^""''?'*''^- 

cp?/^c<L<>n.s"f : in  Labacensi  C.  R.  Scientiarum  Lyceo  pnescriptum 

s\u&o\\im/r't'i/'''20*'-'<'rP'"'''    cursum  absolvisse  atque  in  publicis  examinibuj  in 
scquentes  classes  relatum  esse,  et  quidem: 


Anno  /^j^L 


'00z&&£0&&Jfr7rj£wJ*  ^m/n^nt&rfrr 


Semestri  primo 


Semestri  secundo 


?sn  paa*r&rfr\ 


&77&4S2  (S/ife  *7«^w| 


ff7~7?l-£tit- 


Mores  quod  attinet ,  legibus  acadcmicis  **f9-r*»***  t-rn/p. 
In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  nianu  mea  subscriptas,  et  sigillo  Lycei  munitas  dedi 
Labaci  die«22  mensis  &T&Srt<f  /S<?A 


exhibuit. 


C.  R.  Studu^^ . 
Director. 

FACSIMILE    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA'S    CERTIFICATE    WHILE    IN    THE    PHILOSOPHICAL    COURSE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


traveled  alone.  However,  the  angels  and 
the  Queen  of  angels,  to  whom  he  had, 
all  his  life  time,  a  most  fervent  and  tender 
devotion,  no  doubt  assisted  him  in  his 
hour  of  death.  And,  although  his  body 
was  buried  without  a  priest,  his  beautiful 
soul  was,  no  doubt,  conducted  by  the 
angels  into  the  presence  of  God  to  whom 
he  had  devoted  his  whole  life.  No  grand 
monument  tells  to  posterity,  that  here  rest 
the  precious  remains  of  the  Apostle  of 
Ohio.  But  he  erected  to  himself  thou- 
sands of  monuments  in  the  hearts  of 
those,  whom  he  brought,  through  his  own 
wonderful  zeal  and  pious  prayers,  to  the 
knowledge  of  God.  The  tears  and  bless- 
ings of  thousands  follow  him  to  his  grave. 
May  he  rest  in  peace  and  may  eternal  light 
shine  upon  him."  n 

Bishop  Fenwick  died  at  Wooster,  Ohio. 
His  body  was  not  permitted  to  remain 
where  it  had  been  interred  so  hastily  on 
account  of  the  contagious  disease.  It  was 
removed  to  a  vault  in  the  first  Cathedral 
of  Cincinnati,  on  Sycamore  Street,  Feb- 
ruary nth,  1833.  When  the  present  Ca- 
thedral was  built,  it  was  deposited  in  a 
crypt,  built  for  the  purpose,  on  March. 
13th,  1848.  It  is  still  there.  In  the  sanctu- 
ary, on  a  marble  slab,  his  life  and  his 
merits  are  commemorated  by  the  follow- 
ing inscription : 

In  Memoeiam 

Rmi  et  Illmi  D.  D.  Eduardi  Fenwick 

Primi  Episcopi  Cincinnatensis  ortum 

Ducens     ex     honesta     prosapia     hujusce 

nominis 

Quae  fidem  Catholicam  servavit  illibatam 

In  persecutionibus  ab  Henrico  VIII.    et 

Elizabetha 


Annals  V.,  p.  33. 


Suscitatis  in  Anglia  patria  sua  piis 

Parentibus  Ignatio  Fenwick  et  Eleonora 

Xeale 

Natus  est  in  Comitatu  Stae  Mariae 

In  Marylandia  anno  MDCCLXVIII 

Adolescens   adscriptus   Ordini    Sti    Dom- 

inici 
Studiorum  gratia  missus  est  in  Belgiam 

Ibique  captivus  factus  est  ab  impiis 

Asseclis  magnae  perturbationis  Gallicae 

Libertati  redditus  et  sacerdotio  initiatus 

Ad  sacras  Missiones  in  Ohio  et  Kentuckia 

Zelo  indefesso  per  aliquot  annos  incubuit 

Anno    MDGCCXIV    Adm.    Rev.    N.    D. 

Young 

■  Xepotem  suum  venerabilem  senem 

Misit  Cincinnatim  ut  hie  constitueret 

Sacellum   pro   congregatione   solum   octo 

vel  decern  familiarum.     Anno  MDCCC- 

XXII 

Episcopus  renunciatus  et  in  almo  festo 

Ssmi  nominis  Jesu  consecratus 

Per  decern  annos  munus  apostolicum 

Mitis,  pius.  strenuus  exercens 

Morbo  Cholera  correptus  obiit  in  Wooster 

MCCCXXXII.     Sacra  ipsius  ossa  ab 

Ejus  successore  in  hac  Ecclesia  Metro- 

politana  recondita  sunt  titulusque 

Hie  inscriptus  et  positus  ab  eodem 

Qui  in  quantum  fas  est  se  precibus 

Ejus  commendat  ut  per  gratiam  Dei 

Opitulante  Immaculata  Deipara  simul 

Cum  Protopresbytero  Statuum  Unitorum 

Revdo  Stephano  Theodoro  Badin 

Heic  etiam  sepulto  cumque  fidelibus  sibi 

Commissis  gloria  perfruatur  coelesti 

In  Memory. 
Of  the  Most  Reverend  and  Illustrious 
Edward  Fenwick,  First  Bishop  of  Cincin- 
nati.    Descended  from  honorable  Ances- 
try of  same  name  who  preserved  their 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


43 


Faith  undefiled  during"  the  persecutions 
incited  in  England,  their  Fatherland,  by 
Henry  VIII.,  and  Elizabeth.  He  was 
born  of  pious  parents,  Ignatius  Fenwick 
and  Eleonore  Neale,  in  St.  Mary's  Co., 
Maryland,  in  the  year  1768. 

Entering  the  order  of  St.  Dominic  as  a 
youth,  he  was  sent  to  Belgium  to  make 
his  studies.  There  he  was  made  a  captive 
by  the  godless  adherents  of  the  great 
French  revolution.  Upon  gaining  free- 
dom he  was  ordained,  and  labored  with 
incessant  zeal  for  several  years  in  the  mis- 
sions of  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 

In  1814  he  sent  his  nephew,  the  Very 
Reverend  N.  D.  Young,  now  a  venerable 
old  man,  to  Cincinnati,  to  build  a  chapel 
for  about  eight  or  ten  families.  Created 
Bishop  in  the  year  1822  and  consecrated 
on  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus, 
he  exercised  the  Apostolic  office  with  hu- 
mility, devotedness  and  zeal  for  ten  years. 
He  died  of  cholera  at  VVooster  in  1832. 

His  sacred  remains  were  placed  in  this 
Metropolitan  church  by  his  successor  who 
erected  this  memorial  and  commends  him- 
self to  his  prayers,  in  as  much  as  is  right, 
that  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  interces- 
sion of  His  Immaculate  Mother,  he  may 
attain  heavenly  glory  together  with  the 
first  priest  ordained  in  the  United  States, 
the  Reverend  Stephen  Theodore  Badin, 
who  is  likewise  buried  here,  and  with  all 
the  Faithful  entrusted  to  his  care. 

Baraga  upon  his  return  from  Detroit 
found  winter  in  his  nothern  home.  The 
long  winter  season  was  not  to  his  liking, 
because  it  confined  him  to  the  narrow  cir- 
cle of  his  Arbre  Croche  mission.  His  un- 
dying ambition  for  new  conversions  made 
him  restless,  all  the  more  so,  on  account 
of  the  continual  rumors  that  the  redskins, 


living  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior, 
would  gladly  welcome  a  Black-robe,  if  he 
would  only  come  to  them.  These  were 
well  grounded  rumors,  too,  for  during 
the  extreme  cold  season  many  northern 
Indians  found  their  way  to  the  somewhat 
milder  climate  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan,  thus  coming  into  contact  with 
the  Christianized  Indians.  In  their  com- 
mercial and  Canadian  trips,  they  could 
also  observe,  with  an  inborn  keenness, 
how  much  better  was  the  condition  of 
their  Christianized  brethern,  than  their 
own.  "Frequently  I  receive  tidings."  he 
writes  to  his  Sister,  under  date  of  March 
4>  'S33-  "°f  llcnv  heartily  the  savages  of 
the  northern  countries,  would  welcome 
the  Black-robe,  if  he  would  come  to  them. 

0  how  my  heart  aches  when  I  see  so 
many  opportunities,  to  save  immortal 
souls  from  everlasting  abandonment,  and 

1  dare  not  go  there,  because  I  have  not  yet 
received  permission.  And  if  my  Ordi- 
nary refuses  his  sanction,  I  shall  be  more 
severely  tempted  than  ever  before  to  go 
anyway.  These  savages  live  about  the 
Lake  Superior."  Baraga  evidently  had 
applied  for  permission  to  extend  his  ac- 
tivity north  of  the  Straits,  and  was  now, 
with  impatient  zeal,  awaiting  a  reply,  the 
long  delay  of  which  made  him  fear  that 
he  would  be  tempted  to  go  there  anyway. 

His  trip  to  Michili-Mackinac  which 
was  made  during  the  winter  of  1832-33, 
seems  to  have  been  his  first  long-distance 
tramp  on  snow  shoes.  It  was  a  lesson  of 
indescribable  fatigue,  and  but  for  the  In- 
dians, who  accompanied  him,  he  might 
have  perished.  Speaking  of  this  trip,  he 
says — "The  only  possible  mode  of  travel- 
ling in  winter  is  on  snow  shoes.  After 
two  days,  extraordinary  exertion  and  fa- 


44 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


tigue,  I  reached  my  journey's  end.  Often 
I  sank  in  the  snow  exhausted,  to  rest  up  a 
little.  The  return  trip  was  even  more  dif- 
ficult ;  I  thought  many  a  time,  that  I  could 
go  no  further.  The  good  Indians,  who" 
accompanied  me.  had  compassion  for  me. 
waiting  every  now  and  then,  so  I  could 
follow. 

"However  with  the  spring  tide  comes  a 


his  way  to  the  Island  "Little  Detroit," 
in  Lake  Michigan.  He  remained  there 
eight  days  and  on  the  14th  of  May  he 
christened  22  Indians.  The  remainder 
were  not  opposed  to  the  Christian  religion. 
They  gave  Baraga  good  hopes  if  he 
visited  them  again.  This  time  he  could 
not  miss  visiting  his  friends  at  Manis- 
tique.     He  found  them  in  their  first  zeal. 


FACULTAS  ARTIUM 

IN  antiquissima'ac  celeberrima 

NIVERSITATE  VIENNENSI 


Lecturis  Salutem  a    Domino 

Notum  ac  manifefium  efTe  volumus  omnibus   &  fin. 
gulis  omnium  Facultatum  Doctoribus,  Licentiatis, 
Baccalaureis,  caeterisque  omnibus  ,  po^<c^rutT^>£e,m^ 
^ehrrU^^rn    ££^W*^-~7-  C2Wrv^*-  ^^ 

^n,    ^T^-t^fn     /a^n^n^t-csT?-    <ZLtt-2> ^z^Tsr-r^-m. — _ . » 

in  Album  Studiofbrum  Academicorum  rite  relatum  efle, 
id  ,  quod  manu  propria  &  confueto  Inctytae  Facultatis 
rinse  SigUlo  praefentibus   apprefTo  tefiamur. 

FACSIMILE    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA'S    MATRICULATION    AND    ATTENDANCE    IN    THE 
LAW    DEPARTMENT    AT    THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   VIENNA. 


Viennae 


more  joyous  season  for  me.  On  the  boats 
of  Lake  Superior  I  can  again  sail  round- 
ing up  the  lost  sheep  of  Christ."  12 

True  to  his  word,  the  30th  of  April 
finds  him  out  on  his  first  mission  trip  of 
the  spring.  The  weather  was  still  rough, 
the  winds  piercing  and  cold,  but  he  made 


'Letter  Leop.   S„  June  3,   1833.   Annals  VII., 


p.  5- 


They  were  engaged  in  building  a  larger 
and  more  substantial  church.  "I  cannot 
praise  the  Christians  of  Manistique  suffi- 
ciently, especially  on  account  of  their  ex- 
ceedingly great  love  for  prayer.  Besides 
the  lengthy,  beautiful  morning  and  even- 
ing prayer,  which  they  faithfully  perform 
daily,  they  assemble  twice  and  three  times 
to  recite  the  Rosary.    At  every  little  spare 


SA'.'LT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


-IS 


moment  they  take  their  books,  which  I 
had  printed  last  summer  in  Detroit,  pray- 
ing and  singing  from  them  and  learning 
the  catechism  by  heart,  for  the  most  of 
them  know,  by  this  time  how  to  read  and 
those  who  do  not  are  diligently  learn- 
ing." 13 

From  Manistique  Baraga  sailed  to 
Beaver  Island.  Here  he  fi  iund  the  Christ- 
ian Indians  constant  in  faith  but  much 
harassed  by  the  pagans,  who  were  still  in 
overwhelming  majority.  They  subjected 
them  to  all  kinds  of  despicable  trickery 
and  contempt,  to  induce  them  to  aposta- 
tize. They  would  not  allow  them  to  build 
a  church  under  any  circumstances,  and 
even  threatened  to  burn  it  down,  in  case 
they  attempted  to  do  so.  Appraising  the 
sad  condition  of  his  converts,  he  returned 
to  the  shore  determine'd  to  gain  the  confi- 
dence of  the  savages.  He  came  again; 
this  time  bringing  with  him  many  entic- 
ing gifts,  such  as  striped  shirting,  small 
scissors,  needles,  thread  and  a  large  quan- 
tity of  tobacco,  things  which  they  coveted 
with  an  envious  greed.  After  repeated 
visits  and  continuous  distributions  of  such 
articles,  the  savage  character  yielded.  Out 
in. the  forest,  far  away  from  their  dwel- 
lings, they  apportioned  a  parcel  of  ground, 
where  the  Christians  might  build  their 
church.  "I  am  grateful  to  divine  Provi- 
dence that  the  matter  was  finally  settled. 
I  would  rather  have  the  church  far  from 
the  habitation  of  these  obdurate  pagans, 
as  we  can  hold  our  services  in  this  quiet 
place  without  disturbance.  This  time  1 
spent  several  days  on  Beaver  Island  and 
on  the  23d  of  May  I  baptized  three  more 
pagans."  14 


On  the  24th  Baraga  returned  to  Arbre 
Croche,  where  ample  work  awaited  him. 
Pentecost  was  at  hand,  May  30th.  He 
devoted  his  time  to  hearing  confessions 
and  instructing  neophytes,  who  had  come 
thither  from  the  surrounding-  country. 
"Pentecost  Sunday  was  the  happiest  day 
of  my  life.  I  baptized  on  that  day  38 
pagans  in  the  missinn  church  of  Arbre 
Croche.  I  never  before  baptized  so  many 
at  one  time!  Among  them  there  were  only 
six  children.  On  Monday  I  baptized  six 
adults.  On  the  first  of  June  three,  and 
today,  which  is  the  3d  of  June,  two. 
Twelve  others  are  preparing  for  Baptism 
during  this  week.  God  be  eternally 
praised  for  it !"  15 

On  the  5th  of  June  Baraga  baptized, 
fifteen  pagans,  at  Old  Arbre  Croche,  a  vil- 
lage twenty  one  miles  distant  from  Xew 
Arbre  Croche,  afterwards  called  Little 
Traverse,  now  Harbour  Springs.10 

With  the  summer  of  1833  begins  the 
second  chapter  in  Baraga's  missionary 
life.  His  unqualified  success  in  the  con- 
version of  the  Indian,  and,  as  we  have 
mentioned  above,  his  own  request  gained 
him  the  desired  permission  to  establish 
another  mission.  It  was  to  be  at  Grand 
River.  He  went  about  it  with  much  cir- 
cumspection. "Last  winter,"  he  writes, 
"I  ordered  a  pious  and  well  instructed  In- 
dian, who  had  a  mind  to  winter  at  Grand 
River,  to  visit  the  scattered  villages  fre- 
quently, to  speak  to  them  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  of  the  Priest  who  lives  with 
their  countrymen  at  Arbre  Croche,  who 
would  assuredly  visit  them  the  coming 
summer.  This  good  Indian  fulfilled  his 
mission  according  to  my  wishes.     He  vis- 


1  Letter  June   3,   1833. 
:  Ibidem. 


,s  Ibidem. 
16  Verwyst. 


46 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ited  many  Indians  of  that  region,  speak- 
ing to  them  of  the  Christian  religion  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  thus  prepared  my 
way  as  once  did  John  the  Baptist  for 
Christ  the  Lord.  Many  promised  to  ac- 
cept the  teaching  of  which  he  spoke,  if 
they  only  would  have  the  happiness  of 
seeing  and  hearing  the  envoy  of  the  Great 
Spirit.  I  awaited  anxiously  this  spring 
the  return  of  my  John.  At  length  he 
came.  Grasping  my  hand,  he  said,  smil- 
ing: "Happy  news,  my  Father !  Happy 
News!"  Then  he  told  me  of  the  bright 
prospect  for  the  holy  religion  on  the 
Grand  River,  if  but  a  Catholic  missionary 
came  there,  for  all  the  Indians  long  for 
him."  IT 

It  had  been  always  a  pet  ambition  of 
Bishop  Fenwick  to  have  a  Bishop  ap- 
pointed at  Detroit.  But  this  he  did  not 
live  to  see  realized.  One  year  after  his 
death  (1833)  the  Cincinnati  Diocese  was 
divided.  Vicar  General,  and  administra- 
tor of  the  diocese,  sede  vacante.  the  Very 
Reverend  Frederick  Rese  became  the  first 
bishop  of  the  newly  erected  diocese,  which 
comprised  all  the  territory  of  Michigan 
and  the  Northwest.  The  new  bishop  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  territory  of  his 
new  diocese,  having  made  an  extensive 
visit  of  all  the  missions  during  an  almost 
continual  tour  of  two  years.  He  visited 
in  their  turn  missions  among  the  Menom- 
inees  of  Green  Bay,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes 
East  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Ottawas  in 
Arbre  Croche,  and  the  Pottowatomies  on 
the  St.  Joseph  River.  Therefore,  we  need 
not  wonder  that  he  readily  acceded  to  the 
wishes  of  so  zealous  a  missionary  as  Bar- 
aga, when  he  knew  of  the  numerous  set- 


17  Leop.  Berichte,  VII.,  p.  13. 


tlements  of  Ottawas  in  the  region  of  the 
Grand  River.  He  gave  Beraga  such  pe- 
cuniary support,  as  was  within  his  power, 
and  ordered  him  to  make  such  prepara- 
tions as  he  saw  fit  for  the  establishment 
of  a  new  mission  on  the  Grand  River. 
Baraga  delivered  himself  of  this  task  well. 
By  means  of  the  Indian  envoy,  as  above 
narrated,  he  found  out,  for  certain,  the 
good  disposition  of  the  Indians  to  accept 
the  Christian  religion.  Now  it  remained 
for  him  personally  to  inspect  the  pros- 
pects of  the  new  mission. 

Upon  tliis  he  set  out  without  delay. 
The  nearest  Catholic  mission  is  that 
amongst  the  Pottowatomies  at  St.  Jos- 
eph, one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  distant. 
"It  was  the  7th  of  June  (  1833),  anc' 
after  suffering  many  hardships  and  over- 
coming man}-  difficulties.  I  arrived  at  the 
Grand  River  on  the  15th.  Never  before 
had  a  Catholic  priest  penetrated  into  this 
region. 

"This  so  called  Grand  River  is  the 
boundary  line  between  the  Ottawa  Reser- 
vation and  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  in  the  territory  of  Michi- 
gan. All  the  country  north  of  the  Grand 
River,  even  further  north  from  Michili- 
Mackinac,  is  property  of  these  Indians, 
while  lands  lying  south  of  it  are  owned 
by  the  United  States.  The  largest  Indian 
village,  (on  this  river),  a  day's  journey, 
where  the  river  empties  into  Lake  Michi- 
gan, is  a  wonderful  country,  situated  on 
the  north  bank ;  the  reservation  side,  was 
the  aim  of  my  journey.  On  the  south 
shore  of  the  river,  opposite  to  the  village, 
a  wealthy  French  family  of  Detroit  had 
bought  lands  from  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment and  had  settled  there.  This 
Catholic  family  was  overjoyed  at  the  arri- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


47 


val  of  a  priest  in  this  region.  I  had  to  stop 
at  their  home  and  was  made  to  enjoy 
all  possible  courtesies  and  comforts  they 
could  bestow  upon  me.  A  new  house, 
which  they  had  but  lately  erected  in  close 
neighborhood,  they  turned  over  to  me  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  services.  There  I 
read  Mass  with  grateful  feeling;  morn- 


tismal  ceremony.  I  christened  46  pagans 
at  this  one  time ;  the  first  fruits  of  this 
new  promising  mission,  in  which,  as  1 
hope,  with  the  grace  of  God,  many  souls 
will  be  rescued  from  perdition  and  con- 
ducted into  eternal  salvation.  O  what  an 
unspeakable  consoling  prospect  for  me, 
who  am  come  into  this  wild  country,  only 


1  1  os  N.  N.  Dccaiius^et  Facultas  Juridica  sludii 
Viennensis  tenore  praesentium  fideui  facimus, 
quod  M^J79^1^^d*m^,^^<^^^/^^ 


trn/ri&M/dt 


die  et  anno  infra- 
scfipto  nostrae  iaeultatis  albo  legitime  immalricu- 
latus  fuerit.     Actum  Austriae  die/7.  ^^,^ 
Anni  18// 


FACSIMILE   OF   ATTEST   OF   BISHOP   BARAGA  S    MATRICULATION    AND    ATTENDANCE    IN    THE 
LAW   DEPARTMENT   AT    THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   VIENNA. 


ings  and  evenings  I  preached  to  the  In- 
dians, who  flocked  together  from  across 
the  rjver  to  listen  to  and  to  ponder  over 
the  teachings  of  salvation.  I  remained 
there  quite  a  long  time  and  the  day  before 
my  departure,  to  the  great  consolation  ot 
those  Indians,  whom  I  considered  dis- 
posed and  prepared,  I  had  a  solemn  bap- 


to  seek  lost  souls  and  to  rescue  them,  with 
the  help  of  God,  from  eternal  ruin ! 

"The  46  Indians  I  baptized  in  the  prin- 
cipal village,  which  shall  be  the  centre  of 
the  new  mission  to  be  established,  because 
it  is  the  main  point  of  settlement  of  the 
savages  on  the  Grand  River.  Later  I 
was    pleased    to    observe    also    in    other 


48 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


places,  which  will  belong  to  this  mission, 
many  Indians  disposed  with  great  faith  to 
accept  our  holy  religion  and  with  firm 
enthusiasm  to  live  according  to  it.  Be- 
sides those  in  the  principal  village,  I  bap- 
tized in  three  others.  In  the  first  six.  in 
the  second  twenty-one,  and  in  the  third 
thirteen.  A  total  of  86  in  the  entire  re- 
gion. Thus,  the  86  converts  are  the  first 
fruits  of  the  to-be-established  mission  on 
the  Grand  River,  which  will  most  likely 
develop  into  a  large  proportion.  And 
now,  I  will  lay  also  before  you  the  es- 
teemed directors,  the  reasons  which  have 
moved  my  most  Reverend  Ordinary  to 
permit  the  erection  of  a  new  mission  on 
the  Grand  River. 

"The  first  and  main  reason  was  the 
great  number  of  those  heathens,  of  whom 
many,  even  now  appear  to  have  a  good 
disposition  toward  the  Catholic  religion, 
so  much  so,  that  there  is  reasonable  hope 
that  the  most  of  them  will  be  converted 
to  the  infallible  church,  if  in  the  place, 
where  I  baptized  the  46  Indians,  a  perma- 
nent mission  is  established.  The  Indi- 
ans, above  all  the  Ottawas,  are  much  in- 
clined to  accept  the  Catholic  religion.  The 
non-Catholics,  with  all  their  inexhausti- 
ble means,  cannot  make  much  of  an  im- 
pression upon  the  Indian.  A  striking 
example  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  place 
itself,  where  I  christened  the  46  savages. 
A  I  'rotestant  preacher  has  undertaken  to 
gain  the  savages  for  his  doctrine.  He  has 
spent  almost  nine  years  there,  and  is  being 
amply  supported  by  his  co-religionists. 
Besides  the  400  dollars,  paid  annual  sal- 
ary, provisions  and  clothing  are  sent  him. 
Cut  with  the  help  of  all  these  means,  he 
has  been  able  in  the  period  of  nine  years, 
to  win  over  only  ten  Indians  to  his  relig- 


ion. On  the  other  hand,  a  Catholic  priest, 
poor  and  despoiled  of  all  temporal  goods, 
but  well  supplied  with  treasures  of  truth 
and  salvation,  not  only  completely  wins 
over  46  in  the  same  place,  and  that  in  a 
few  days,  but  secures  the  promise  of  many 
others  to  accept  the  Catholic  religion,  as 
soon  as  I  shall  come  again  to  stay  with 
them  permanently.  Nor  has  the  Protes- 
tant preacher  converted  a  single  Indian  in 
any  other  village  of  that  region, — most 
likely  because  it  does  not  belong  to  his 
calling !  On  the  contrary,  during  a  single 
missionary  tour  40  Indians  have  been  con- 
verted in  the  neighboring  hamlets,  and  by 
far  many  more  have  given  me  their  prom- 
ise to  become  Christians  as  soon  as  I  shall 
live  among  them.  O,  what  a  glorious  tri- 
umph of  truth  we  profess!  Glory  and 
praise  be  to  the  Good  Shepherd  who  so 
lovingly  looks  after  his  lost  sheep! 

"A  second  reason  for  establishing  a  mis- 
sion in  this  region,  is  the  significant  num- 
ber of  Catholic  Canadians,  who  living 
amongst  these  savages  and  trading  with 
them,  are  deprived  of  all  spiritual  conso- 
lation. Many  of  these,  I  know,  have  be- 
come almost  savage  themselves,  but  I 
hope,  that  when  a  priest  lives  amongst 
them,  they  will  again  be  brought  into  the 
right  path,  like  in  many  other  places  of 
our  diocese.  Their  children,  too.  who  are 
now  growing  up  without  instruction,  will 
then  have  opportunity  to  go  to  school. 

"Finally,  the  third  reason  is,  that  great 
crowds  of  Indians  from  Arbre  Croche 
and  vicinity  winter  in  the  region  of  the 
Grand  River  and  thus,  during  the  entire 
winter  do  not  see  a  priest.  However,  if 
there  is  a  mission  established  as  now  con- 
templated, the  Christian  Indians  will 
have,  from  time  to  time,  an  opportunity 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


49 


jDttUtMtnifyMttbWHttf  bap  £l~/£'.~J~*{ ;•-         47 

^.yl,   /.0  &.^J    ^  C1J>_ \<[Jy 3Mfti(5, 

en  ber  f.  f.Unfoerfifat  ju  33icn  ben  corjcfd)rif6ciicit  iuribifd>cn  2ef)r=  Euro  geenbigef,  imb  in' 
b{,n  dffcntlicOcn  ^riifungcn  folgtnbc  Slaflen  cr&alrm  babe 


J&M 


AWtf 


a2  <£->  «K.-./.../S_A' 


in  bcr  "tn  <Bcmcflial> 
9>rufung. 


111  bcr  aim  (2eintftra|: 
"JSrufung. 


*jL/$./r'.-J4~j  g/JJMfr 


.£/  2.£j  /&?/ 


^ 


gJbGr 


£/L'&.*r.i-J£- 


5 


6cm  Setrajcn  war  ben  arabfinifcfyn  (Scft^cn  *>  „~.^/J 

3u  Urfunbc  beffen  tmbe  id;  3C3cniDurtiae&3cuijmp  nut nuiner Unter fc^rtf t  unb  Dcin6iqd 
btt  juubifeben  gacuftat  btftflfrijef.    Kicnbcn  //  bcSSNonati)*    0y2/2     \%2/ 


•0Ly>c~M 


■  f.  f.  Sircfror 
bcS  jiirirufd;cn  StubiumS. 

FACSIMILE  OF   BISHOP   BARAGA'S    CERTIFICATE    WHILE   TAKING    A    LAW    COURSE 
AT   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   VIENNA. 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

to  hear  Mass,  to  receive  instruction  and  "It  was  the  7th  of  June  1833."  1S 

the  holy  Sacraments.    For  the  pagan  visi-  In  view  of  such  unexpected  success  on 

tors,  likewise,  it  will.prove  a  good  chance  his  first  trip,  Baraga  was  naturally  ani- 

to  profit  for  their  salvation.  mated  with  great  expectations  as  to  his 

LECTURIS  SALUTEM! 


Jtrxsentibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur (7 J&zt&tttfafr  /zMf^y^h 

Labacensi  Scientiarum  Lyceo  praelectiones    -x^-   -&rfl'iHtu*tu-  -4M.&y 
c{'lM^^4mjvhf7?£-      4ststtfiJlk>  atque  in  examine. 

publico  -^Uu^d^    semestris  in  elasscm  y?AWl4/rrt-   Ouvrv  (^ffidyyi/lyi/^'yt 
relatuni  esse. 

Mores  quod  -attinet,  legibus  academicis     Q/t'2f?/f'pPl&J-    C<Mfi't#ui 
exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  manu  nostra  subscriptas,  et  Lycei  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 
Labaci  die      f      mensis     MtWUrtl/fvf'    f^2Z. 


vt^xJf<*fyr  Q^Vy1* 


fife**-  <£*Xfo<-  f  %/.  4/^ 

C.  R.  Studii  A*^/^  Professor  publ. 

Director 

KA<  SIMILE   OF   BISHOP   RARAGa's   CERTIFICATE   FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY 
IN    THE   SEMINARY    AT    LAIBACH. 

"These  reasons  have  induced  my  Most  new    mission.      He   had    firmly    resolved 

Reverened  Ordinary  to  place  at  my  dis-  upon  the  undertaking.      Arriving  home, 

posal  some  limited  means  and  to  order  •"  Arbre  Croche,  he  received  on  the  10th 

me  to  establish  this  new  mission.  ""^Letter  July  26.   1833.     Annals  VII. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


51 


of  July  a  box  of  religious  articles  together 
with  i, too  florins,  a  present  from  some 
kind  benefactors  of  his  native  diocese  of 
Laibach,  especially  intended  for  him. 
This  served  only  to  confirm  him  in  his 
resolution.  The  report  of  his  trip,  and 
plans  for  the  future  were  much  pleasing 
to  the  Bishop.  But  one  thing  to  do  before 
leaving,  was  a  final,  so  to  say,  a  farewell 
visit  to  all  the  missions,  which  he  had  es- 
tablished during  his  stay  in  Arbre 
Croche.     Of  this  last  visit  he  writes : 

"About  the  end  of  July,  I  undertook 
my  last  missionary  tour  from  this  station. 
In  a  neighboring  village  of  Arbre  Croche. 
which  is  quite  large,  and  now  wholly  con- 
verted, the  Indians  have  built  a  small, 
neat  church.  I  dedicated  it  on  the  first  of 
August,  in  honor  of  God,  to  the  name  of 
St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  and  celebrated  Mass 
in  it  for  the  first  time.  From  there  I  con- 
tinued my  journey  to  Manistique,  where 
I  found  everything  in  the  very  best  order. 
All  inhabitants,  with  the  exception  of  one 
stubborn  old  man,  are  c<  instant  in  prayer 
and  faithful  in  the  fulfillment  of  their 
Christian  virtues.  A  young  Indian  wom- 
an from  the  North,  came  si  >me  time  ago  to 
Manistique  with  the  resolution,  to  leave 
home  and  her  pagan  parents  forever,  in 
order  to  spend  her  life  in  Manistique  as  a 
Christian,  after  the  fashion  of  the  In- 
dians there.  I  baptized  this  chosen  soul 
on  the  6th  of  August.  From  there  I  went 
to  Little  Detroit.  In  May.  on  the  occa- 
sion of  my  first  visit  there,  I  advised  the 
converted  Indians  to  build  a  chapel,  and 


this  time  I  had  the  pleasure  to  find  a  small 
bark-chapel,  which  I  blessed  in  honor  of 
God,  on  the  9th  of  August,  to  the  name  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  founder  of  the 
Congregation  of  Missions.  I  also  blessed 
a  cemetery  for  the  burying  of  Christians, 
the  same  as  I  have  always  done  in  other 
missions.  On  the  12th  of  August  I  bap- 
tized there  three  more  Indian  women.  Be- 
fore my  departure,  I  gave  the  Christians 
a  letter  of  recommendation  to  the  mis- 
sionary of  Green  Bay,  requesting  him 
kindly  to  accept  the  spiritual  care  over 
this  congregation,  and  to  endeavor  or  con- 
vert the  remaining  heathens  of  this  vil- 
lage, inasmuch,  as  it  is  nearer  and  easier 
to  reach  Little  Detroit  from' Green  Bay 
than  from  Arbre  Croche.  Returning  home 
I  also  landed  on  Beaver  Island,  where  I 
found,  however,  but  few  Indians,  because 
the  most  of  them  had  gone  to  Canada  to 
receive  their  presents  from  the  English 
government.  The  church  I  found  not  yet 
completed,  because  the  heathens  of  this 
Island  are  still  hostile  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion and  tear  down  what  is  built,  and 
thus  hinder  the  construction  of  the  church. 
The  Christians  have,  for  this  reason, 
come  to  the  conclusion  to  leave  the  is- 
land and  to  settle  in  Arbre  Croche.  I 
approved  of  it,  leaving  word  to  the  absent 
Christians,  that  I  desire  them  to  move  to 
Arbre  Croche.  This  was  the  condition 
of  the  mission  on  Beaver  Island,  when  I 
last  visited  it.  I  then  returned  to  my 
parish."  19 


1  Letter  25th.  August   1833.     Annals  VII. 


Ch 


t  e  r 


II 


Baraga  establishes  a  mission  on  the  Grand  River. — He  goes  to 

La  Pointe,  Wisconsin. — His  labors  in  St.  Joseph 

mission. — Visits  his   native  country. — ■ 

His  literary  labors. 


When  Baraga  arrived  in  Arbre  Croche 
he  found  there  his  successor  in  the  person 
of  Father  Simon  Saenderl.  Superior  of 
the  Redemptorists  in  America.  Just  as 
Baraga  had  surmised,  the  Bishop  had 
turned  the  mission  over  to  the  Redemp- 
torist  Fathers,  and  on  the  6th  of  August 
one  priest  and  two  lay  brothers  had  ar- 
rived. Brother  Aloysius  whom  Baraga 
had  brought  along  from  Detroit,  had 
been  there  over  ten  months. 

Thus  ended  Baraga's  missionary  labors 
in  Arbre  Croche.  During  two  years  and 
four  months,  he  had  baptized  four  hun- 
dred and  sixty  one  Indians,  besides  the 
eighty  six  at  Grand  River,  five  hundred 
and  forty  seven  in  all.  Before  leaving, 
Baraga  gave  the  Leopoldine  Society  a  re- 
sume of  his  labors  and  the  condition  in 
which  he  left  Arbre  Croche  and  depend- 
ent missions. 

The  letter  is  dated  August  25th,  1833. 
Among  other  things  he  says:  "I  am  on 
the  point  of  leaving  Arbre  Croche  to  take 
up  my  permanent  residence  in  a  new 
place,  where  Providence  and  my  Superior, 
have  destined  me  to  establish  a  new  mis- 
sion. I  am  well  aware  of  the  difficulties 
with  which  this  undertaking  is  beset,  par- 


ticularly in  the  beginning.  Still  I  will- 
ingly and  readily  take  upon  myself  all 
this  disagreeableness.  if  even  but  few  are 
snatched  from  eternal  perdition,  who 
would  not  have  been  saved  if  no  priest 
had  gone  there.  Perhaps,  many  of  these 
heathens,  who  are  in  the  beginning  great 
enemies  of  Christianity,  will  be,  in  a  few 
years,  good  Christians.  The  same  as  it 
was  in  Arbre  Croche,  where  they  are  now 
all  converted,  but  among  whom  there  are 
many,  who  in  the  beginning  gave  little 
hope  of  conversion,  now,  however,  are 
exemplary  Christians.  Perhaps  there  will 
be  a  like  success  in  the  new  mission  on  the 
Grand  River.     May  God  grant  it !"  ' 

Baraga's  anticipation  of  great  difficul- 
ties was  not  without  good  reason.  He 
had  observed  on  his  exploration  trip,  that 
there  was  a  Protestant  mission  with  a 
resident  minister.  Although  he  had  not 
met  with  success,  for  in  nine  years  he  had 
gained  only  ten  followers  to  his  religion, 
vet,  as  Baraga  rightly  divined,  he  could 
prove  to  be  of  much  annoyance. 

Sept.  21. — the  tenth  anniversary  of  his 
priesthood  he  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the 


1  Ibidem,  p.   17. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


S3 


Grand  River  on  his  way  to  the  new  reser- 
vation. 

On  the  23d  of  September  Baraga  ar- 
rived in  the  place  of  his  new  mission.  "I 
made  it  my  first  business,  after  I  came 
here,"  he  writes,  "to  call  the  savages  to  a 
meeting,  announcing  to  them  that  I  am 
come  not  as  the  first  time,  only  for  a  short 
visit,  but  with  the  intention  of  remaining 
with  them  in  order  to  instruct  them  and 
their  children  in  the  true  and  holy  relig- 
ion, as  well  as  in  everything  else  that  is 
good  and  beneficial  to  them.  The  Cath- 
olic Indians  were  much  pleased,  the  pa- 
gans showed  themselves  unconcerned,  be- 
ing neither  against  nor  for  it.  The 
small  minority,  however,  whom  the  min- 
ister, during  nine  years,  had  gained  for 
his  teaching,  did  not  remain  indifferent, 
but  at  the  instigation  of  their  false  proph- 
et, vehemently  opposed  my  project  of 
establishing  a  new  mission  in  their  vil- 
lage. After  some  parleying  I  spoke  myself, 
and  explained  to  them  of  what  great  an 
advantage  a  Catholic  mission  would  prove 
to  the  inhabitants  of  this  region.  The 
foremost  of  the  Protestant  Indians,  who 
was  always  their  spokesman,  did  not 
know  what  to  answer.  He  only  main- 
tained that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the 
erection  of  a  new  mission  in  their  village, 
but  was  unable  to  offer  any  obvious  rea- 
son, so  that  even  the  simple  savages  could 
see  how  unreasonable  his  objection  was. 
Finally  he  ventured  to  offer  the  proposi- 
tion, that  I  better  move  higher  up  the 
Grand  River,  where  there  are  also  large 
villages,  and  that  there  I  might  establish 
my  mission  tent  but  nut  in  their  village. 
I  at  once  perceived  that  the  silly  talker 
could  neither  substantiate  his  opposition 
nor  take  an  explanation.     I  plainly  told 


him  that  he  had  no  right  to  hinder  the 
establishing  of  a  Catholic  mission  in  this 
village,  in  which  there  are  already  so 
many  Catholics,  and  that  the  Catholic  In- 
dians have  an  equal  right  to  permit  their 
priest  to  build  them  a  church,  school,  and 
house,  as  the  Protestant  had,  to  grant 
same  privileges  to  their  preacher.  Then 
my  adversary  gave  in  and  the  dispute  was 
ended.  Thereupon  we  went  to  the  place, 
which  I  had  selected  for  my  church  and 
other  buildings,  and  we  designated  the 
area  of  ground  to  belong  to  the  mis- 
sion.2 

Content  with  the  momentary  victory, 
Baraga  set  about  to  establish  himself,  for 
the  time  being,  as  best  he  might.  Pur- 
posely he  had  selected  his  mission  site  in 
the  Indian  reservations,  because  he  be- 
lieved that  it  might  greatly  influence  the 
red  man  to  accept  the  Christian  religion. 
Hence  he  had  to  rely  upon  them  for  any 
possible  accommodation.  One  of  his 
former  converts  had  during  the  summer 
constructed  a  log  house,  and  this  he 
placed  at  Baraga's  disposition.  Baraga 
fitted  it  out  for  a  chapel,  and  at  the  same 
time  opened  a  school  with  twenty-five 
Indian  and  four  white  children. 

Among  the  white  settlers  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river  Baraga  hoped  to  find  a 
sufficient  number  of  mechanics,  who 
would  put  up  his  church.  All  efforts 
proved  in  vain;  he  resolved  to  go  to  De- 
troit. We  give  his  own  description  of 
this  fatiguing  trip.  He  says,  "Last 
month,  (November)  I  travelled  to  De- 
troit to  present  myself  to  the  Governor 
of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  and  to  rec- 
ommend to  him  my  mission.     Himself  I 


2  Letter    October   12,   1833.     Annals  VII. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


did  not  find  in  Detroit,  but  his  Secretary 
assured  me  that  it  will  please  the  Gover- 
nor very  much,  that  1  have  established 
myself  among  the  Indians  of  the  Grand 
River,  and  that,  as  soon  as  he  shall  have 
returned  to  Detroit,  he  will  favorably 
consider  my  letter  in  which  I  had  ex- 
plained the  condition  of  my  new  mission. 

"Detroit  is  the  capital  of  the  territory 
of  Michigan  and  also  the  See  of  my  most 
reverend  Bishop  Rese.  It  is  two  hundred 
miles  away  from  my  mission,  and  the 
road  extremely  bad.  I  went  there  on 
horseback  accompanied  by  an  Indian.  It 
took  us  seven  days  to  make  this  painful 
journey  one  way.  The  return  trip  was 
even  harder.  I  had  hired  in  Detroit  one 
carpenter,  whom  I  need  badly,  and  an- 
other laborer.  We  three  had  thus  the  ■ 
use  of  one  horse,  while  one  rode  the  other 
two  walked.  The  roads  are  so  bad  that 
often  we  sank  knee-deep  into  the  mud 
and  only  with  difficulty  made  headway. 
During  the  last  two  days  we  found  no 
house.  At  the  last  house  we  bought  all 
the  bread  we  could  get,  but  it  did  not  suf- 
fice for  three  persons  during  two  days, 
and  the  last  day  we  had  nothing  to  eat. 
However  we  made  merry  and  ran  so 
much  faster  in  order  to  reach  home  before 
night,  where  we  found  a  frugal  meal."  3 

With  the  help  at  his  command,  Baraga 
commenced  work  on  the  new  church,  Oc- 
tober 14th.  It  progressed  slowly.  Two 
carpenters  could  accomplish  but  little  dur- 
ing the  short  days  of  the  approaching 
winter.  But  they  worked  day  after  day. 
Log  after  log  was  hewn  four  sided  and 
placed  in  the  structure.  And  surely  the 
genius  of  Baraga  demanded  some  archi- 


tectural appearance  to  his  new  church! 
The  corners  had  to  be  squared  and  made 
quoin-shaped.  It  took  a  long  time  to 
raise  the  walls  to  a  sufficient  height,  and 
ready  for  the  rafters.  While  the  building 
was  slowly  going  up,  Baraga's  spirits,  al- 
though accustomed  to  hardships,  came  to 
the  lowest  ebb.  His  letters  seldom  betray 
the  suffering  which  he  was  compelled  to 
endure.  About  his  present  situation 
however,  he  says:  "My  condition,  for  the 
present,  is  very  unpleasant  and  well  nigh 
unbearable,  and  it  will  remain  so,  till  my 
church,  school,  and  house  are  built.  If 
the  timber  proves  to  be  as  scarce  here, 
as  in  Arbre  Croche,  I  will  be  reduced 
to  extreme  misery.  I  am  living  in  a 
miserable  hovel,  that  resembles  more  an 
open  milk-house  than  a  dwelling.  Not- 
withstanding the  unfavorable  season,  we 
continue  the  work  on  the  church  and 
the  house.  I  have  only  two  laborers,  but, 
although  I  must  say  it  to  their  credit,  that 
they  work  well,  how  little  can  two  men 
do !"  4 

Baraga  experienced  four  score  of  years 
ago,  what  a  priest  building  a  church, 
school  or  house,  has  to  contend  with  to- 
day. 

About  the  labor  he  says.  "Since  the  first 
day  here,  I  endeavored  to  obtain  laborers. 
I  wrote  to  different  places  to  have  them 
come  here,  and  had  almost  hope  of  suc- 
cess, but  in  the  end  no  one  would  come  so 
far,  because  everyone  had  enough  to  do 
in  his  own  locality.  Finally,  I  found  the 
two  who  now  work  for  me,  but  for  not 
less  than  one  dollar  and  a  half  a  day.  To 
the  carpenter,  who  came  with  me  from 
Detroit,  I  pay,  however,  only  one  dollar 


;!  Letter    to    Lcop.    Soc.    dated,    Grand    River, 
Dec.   1,   183.3.     Annals  VIII.,  p.  25. 


'  Ibidem. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


55 


a  day,  but  must  furnish  him  board,  lodg- 
ing, light  and  washing.  It  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve how  high  priced  the  artisans  are. 
These  three  carpenters,  whom  I  now  em- 
ploy, are  not  even  skilled,  but  just  about 
passable  workmen.  Master  workmen  de- 
mand commonly  three  dollars  a  da)'." 
And  about  the  cost  of  material  he  contin- 
ues, "The  erection  of  a  new  mission,  so 
far.  from  the  cities,  costs  enormously.  I 
am  building  my  church,  school,  and  house 
as  plain  as  possible,  only  of  logs.  Later,  in 
the  summer,  if  I  receive  sufficient  means. 
I  will  have  them  plastered,  after  the  fash- 
ion so  common  in  America.  But  even  these 
wooden  buildings,  hardly  large  enough 
for  our  purposes,  cost  more  than  big  stone 
buildings  in  Europe.  Not  only  mechanics 
but  also  materials,  boards,  nails  etc..  cost 
incredibly  much  money.  And  yet,  such 
buildings  are  absolutely  necessary  to  a 
missionary,  even  if  he  should  have  to  pay 
for  them  himself,  because  without  them 
it  is  impossible  to  open  a  successful  mis- 
sion." 5 

Numerous  conversions  gave  Baraga 
great  consolation  and  new  courage  for  en- 
durance. In  less  than  ten  weeks  he  added 
upward  of  one  hundred  souls  to  his  flock. 
Attendance  at  school  had  also  increased  to 
thirty-eight.  "O  how  anxious  I  am,  soon 
to  have  a  becoming  church  and  a  spacious, 
neat  school !  The  founding  of  a  mission 
in  such  a  wild  and  distant  country  costs 
much,  very  much  indeed!  But,  consid- 
ered from  a  Christian  point  of  view,  all 
these  expenses  are  nothing  when  com- 
pared to  the  great  good  accomplished. 
How  many  souls  are  saved  from  ruin, 
through  the  erection  of  a  new  mission. 


who  otherwise  would  have  perished !  And 
is  not  one  immortal  soul  worth  more  than 
all  the  moneys  of  this  world  Would  not 
Jesus  Christ  be  ready  to  be  crucified  anew, 
if  it  could  not  be  saved  otherwise  ?  O  that 
the  temporal  want  of  means  may  never 
hinder  my  progress  in  the  conversion  of 
these  poor  savages!  I  begin  to  fear  this 
when  I  reflect  on  the  great  outlays,  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  in  the  establish- 
ing of  my  new  mission.  In  this  my  anxi- 
ety and  fear,  I  today  appear  before  you, 
my  dear  benefactors  in  my  beloved  father- 
land, as  intercessor  in  behalf  of  my  poor 
savages,  deserving  of  so  much  pity.  I 
implore  you  with  outstretched  hands  to 
have  compassion  on  your  unfortunate 
brethern  in  this  part  of  the  world,  who 
are  drifting  upon  the  ways  of  blind  pag- 
anism toward  perdition.  You  have  the 
great  happiness  of  being  christened, 
and  of  knowing  God  and  of  being  on  the 
way  that  leads  to  Life.  Assist,  as  much  as 
it  is  in  your  power,  your  pitiable  brethren 
in  this  country,  to  obtain  the  same  ines- 
timable blessing!" 

"I  am  not  begging  for  myself  or  seek- 
ing my  personal  comforts.  Those  who 
know  me  are  aware  that  I  am  satisfied 
with  few  things.  However,  when  I  see 
that  only  lack  of  money  prevents  me  from 
attaining  my  end.  succoring  my  beloved 
brethren,  then  I  wish  I  were  rich,  in  order 
that  with  such  perishable  treasures  I  may 
procure  for  them  eternal  life."  6 

Poverty  did  not  have  such  dishearten- 
ing effect  upon  Baraga  as  the  disrepu- 
table surroundings  in  which  he  was  com- 
pelled to  live  and  move.  Paganism,  per- 
meated by  the  vices  of  the  whiteman,  be- 


Letter  Dec.  I,  1833.  Annals  VIII. 


Letter    Dec.   I.   1833.     Annals  VIII. 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

came  hideous  and  repugnant  to  the  ex-  go,  offering  liquor  in  exchange  for  valu- 

treme."    The  savages  are,  as  a  rule,  very  able   pelts,    so    that   the    Indians   in    this 

much  addicted  to  drunkenness,  but  they  neighborhood,  and  in  this  place  particu- 

have  not  everywhere  an  opportunity  to  larly,  are  almost  continually  intoxicated. 

LECTUR1S  SALUTEM! 


Irsesentibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur, 0 . (ftcvmfa. ^tQ^. 

'JyC^i-nio  —    $L^Lf~jaAs^wc>ihisnvisrn-  ill  C.  R. 

Labacensi  Scientiarum  Lyceo    prselectiones.  em/  a^a-bii^e   &Zuq^C£s-/&ha3 
-e*o^t//t-  j  atque  in  examine 

publico    T^owriV)   semestris  in  classem     iryyrr^a^m.  . . 

relatum  esse. 

Mores  quod  attinet ,  legibus  academicis   vMry'-"^^   c^r^<y^y^-t-k/  . 

exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidera  has  ei  manu  nostra  snbscriptas,  et  Lycei  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 


Labaci  die     1  ■    niensis    J^C&i~4iJj    -W%Qj  ■ 


C.  R.  Studii/fc*^,^  Professor 'publ.^P^'^ 
Director 

FACSIMILE    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA'S  ATTENDANCE    AT    THE    CLASSES    OF 
EASTERN   LANGUAGES  AT   THE   SEMINARY  AT  LAIBACH. 

indulge  in  this  vice,  because  they  cannot  I   have   spoken   to   several   of  these   de- 

always  obtain  liquor.     But  here  on  the  praved  traders,  who  sell  their  own  and 

Grand  River  there  are  so  many  fur-trad-  the  souls  of  these  poor  Indians  to  the  hel- 

ers  who  follow  the  Indians  wherever  they  lish  enemy.    In  answer  I   have  received 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


57 


only  insults  and  threats.  They  hearken 
to  my  words  even  less  than  the  rudest 
savage.  In  revenge  they  even  bring  more 
liquor  to  the  savages,  advising  them 
strongly  neither  to  listen  to  me  nor  to 
believe  me.  They  also  slander  me  as 
much  as  possible.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  is  evidently  difficult  to  hold  mis 
sions  and  to  convert  pagans.  However, 
against  God  there  is  no  counsel !  And 
yet  the  number  of  converts  is  steadily  on 
the  increase,  and,  through  Baptism,  many 
are  received  into  our  Holy  Church. 

"It  is  a  terrible  sight  to  see  a  savage  in 
a  state  of  intoxication,  especially  the 
women.  They  are  then  real  furies.  There 
are  many  Indian  women  here  who  have 
no  noses.  When  I  came  here  for  the  first 
time,  I  did  not  know  how  to  account  for 
it.  Inquiring  I  learned  that,  when  drunk, 
they  attack  one  another  like  raging 
wolves  and  bite  off  each  others  nose. 
Others,  again,  have  lost  one  or  more 
fingers  in  like  bacchanalian  fights.  The 
men  attack  each  other  with  their  large 
knives  which  they  always  carry  with 
them.  We  often  hear  of  murders  perpe- 
trated in  drunkenness.  My  life  is  here 
in  danger.  Every  evening  I  must  care- 
fully and  securely  bar  my  doors  to  guard 
against  a  visit  of  these  monsters. 

"A  few  days  ago  there  were  many 
drunken  savages  in  our  village.  A  fur- 
trader  had  brought  them  such  quantities 
of  whisky  that  they  kept  on  drinking 
four  days  and  four  nights.  Our  Christ- 
ians were  much  saddened  at  this  and  were 
in  danger  themselves.  One  of  my  best 
men  almost  lost  his  life  in  those  unlucky 
days.  A  drunken  wretch  came  to  his 
house  and  spoke  terribly  against  religion, 
and  finally  wanted  to  stab  him  with  his 


knife.  Only  with  greatest  difficulty  the 
Christian  Indian  averted  the  calamity. 
During  these  same  unhappy  days  I  had 
myself  a  nocturnal  visit  from  these  in- 
ebriated savages.  While  they  were  yet  a 
great  distance  from  the  house,  their  ter- 
rible shouting  aroused  me  from  sleep. 
When  they  came  to  my  door  they  tried  to 
enter  and  shouted  terribly,  but  I  could 
not  understand  anything  they  said.  I 
remained  quiet,  trusting  in  the  Provi- 
dence of  God.  When  they  realized  that 
they  could  not  get  in,  they  went  away 
howling.  Xow,  when  I  notice  that  there 
are  drunken  savages  in  the  location,  I 
lock  my  door  as  soon  as  it  gets  dark. 

"In  Arbre  Croche  I  had  no  such  un- 
pleasantness and  dangers  to  face,  because 
almost  all  the  Indians  there  are  converted 
and  the  few  pagans  still  there  are  harm- 
less. Nevertheless,  I  have  never  repented 
that  I  have  come  here,  because  Arbre 
Croche  is  better  cared  for  by  my  succes- 
sor, the  judicious  and  zealous  Father 
Saenderl,  than  it  was  under  my  charge. 
Besides  I  have  the  consolation  of  know- 
ing that,  by  the  help  and  grace  of  God, 
many  have  embraced  Christian  religion, 
and  now  lead  exemplary  lives,  who  form- 
erly had  no  idea  of  Christianity."  Such 
noble,  inspiring  words  could  be  penned 
i  inly  by  men  like  Baraga ;  men  self-sacri- 
ficing for  the  betterment  of  their  fellow 
men  and  the  glory  of  God.  Many  a  one 
would  have  abandoned  the  field  under  so 
extremely  difficult  circumstances,  but 
Baraga  held  out!  For  what?  Gold,  hon- 
or? This  is  his  own  answer;  "Were  it 
not  for  the  ardent  desire  and  the  fond 
hope  I  cherish  that  some  unhappy  souls, 
now  groping  in  the  ways  of  paganism, 
which  leads  to  perdition,  shall  be  saved, 


58 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


nothing  in  this  world  could  induce  me  to     dians,  of  whom  only  30  were  Christians, 
stay  here,  where  heathenism,  with  all  its     promised  to  accept  the  Christian  religion. 

upon  their  request,  he  selected  a  site  for 
a  new  church,  which  he  hoped  to  dedicate 
in  honor  of  St.  Joseph. 

The  mission  building  at  the  Grand 
River  was  in  the  meanwhile  going  toward 
completion.     It    was    a    combination    of 


vices,  is  so  deeply  rooted,  and  where  be- 
fore me,  no  missionary  has  ever  endeav- 
ored to  root  it  up."  ' 

Baraga  met  the  anticipated  difficulties 
in  full.  He  applied  himself  all  the  more 
to  labor  and  above  all  to  prayer.     At  no 


time  do  his  letters  betray  so  great  a  spirit     church,  school,  and  house,  all  under  one 


of  prayer  as  those  written  from  the 
Grand  River.  In  one  of  them  he  earn- 
estly requests  the  prayers  of  his  Austrian 
benefactors  for  himself  and  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  mission.  The  winter  of  1S33- 
1834  was  a  mild  one.  The  sugar-making 
season  therefore  came  early.  On  the 
26th  of  February  some  Arbre  Croche 
Indians  came  to  the  village  with  the  invi- 
tation to  visit  them,  in  their  winter  camp. 


roof,  50  feet  long.  30  feet  wide,  and  12 
feet  in  height.  Contrary  to  his  calcula- 
tions, Baraga  was  able  to  dedicate  it  much 
sooner  than  he  expected.  He  says :  "I 
had  hoped  to  dedicate  this  new  church  to 
the  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  Pen- 
tecost Sunday.  However,  through  the 
special  efforts  of  my  carpenters  and  the 
blessing  of  Heaven,  I  was  able  to  dedi- 
cate it  on  the  20th  of  April.     It  is  not  as 


about  a  day's  journey  distant.      Baraga  yet  completely  finished,  but  we  can  with 

did  not  hesitate  but  undertook  at  once  the  decorum   hold   our   services    in   it.      The 

tedious    journey    through    swamps    and  dedication  day,  being  the  third   Sunday 

trackless   forests.     He  was  as  he  states  after  Easter,  was  really  the  most  solemn 

himself  deeply  repaid  for  the  wearisome  we  have  yet  seen  in  this  mission.     It  was 

journey  by  the  hearty  reception  accorded  a  beautiful  spring-day.     The  serenity  of 

him  by  his  much  beloved  former  children  the   firmament   harmonizing   lovely    with 


from  Arbre  Croche.  The  earnest  and 
zealous  practice  of  their  religion  edified 
him.  In  the  center  of  their  sugar  camp 
they  had  even  erected  a  temporary  chapel. 


the  joyous  festivity.  The  usual  hour  for 
services  we  walked  with  happy  feelings, 
in  solemn  procession  to  the  church.  An 
Indian  carried  ahead  of  us  the  peaceful 


There   they  assembled  daily  to  perform     banner  of  the  cross  and  planted  it  in  front 


their  devotions  in  common.  They  now 
also  made  use  of  the.  opportunity  and 
went  to  their  Easter  duties.  Fifteen  In- 
dians were  even  permitted  to  receive  first 
Holy  Communion.  Another  day's  jour- 
ney farther  were  some  more  Indians,  at  a 
place  called  Mash-Kigong.  Baraga  went 
there  principally  to  visit  two,  old,  sick  In- 
dians.    At  the  same  time,  as  all  the  In- 


of  the  church.  Quite  a  number  of  pagan 
Indians  and  Americans,  of  whom  the 
greater  part  profess  no  religion,  followed 
the  procession  to  witness  the  dedication 
ceremony,  a  thing  never  seen  here  be- 
fore." s 

On  the  13th  of  June  Baraga  paid  an- 
other visit  to  Mash-Kigong,  or  St.  Jos- 
eph, as  he  named  it.     "The  Indians  of 


7  Letter  Feb    1 
et  seq.  ' 


1834.     Annals  VIII.,  p.  29. 


Letter  24,  May  1834.     Annals  VIII. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


59 


this  place  anxiously  expected  me.  I  have 
visited  this  place  which  the  Indians  call 
Mash-Kig'ong,  several  times  before.  Al- 
though there  are  many  Christians  here. 


ans  work  on  their  church.  While  I  was 
with  them  I  daily  read  holy  Mass  in  an 
Indian  house  and  immediately  after  Mass 
they    all    went    to    work    refreshed    and 


there  are  yet  many  pagans  who  will  per-     cheered  up  by  religious  consolations.    I 


LECTURIS  SALUTEM! 

JTraescntibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur  ^A  ffi&t£L#jL*A^)*^ " 


tyVt4^^m- 


in   C.  R. 


Labacensi  Scientiarum 


Lyce(ye**^£iW**#*>tr»^*<~  tM*  o-c&tL*'  m&X^C^i 


atque  in  examine 


publico  finali  in  classem  Gsf72^-rLtr7b€~tst, 
relatum  esse. 


\_yeAsrrmn, 


rr^- 


Mores  quod   attinet,  legibus  academicis'^T^/^^Vrv*^  < 
exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  manu  nostra  subscriptas,  et  Lycei  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 
Labaci  tye£}$.     mtx\s\i(&±eL4vOri  ~/f$Q , 


c.  r.  studii  &~&rt' 


Profess.or  publ.  &*-*>•    j 


Director. 


t//uA&&**- 


FACSIMILE  OF  BISHor   BARAGA  S   CERTIFICATE   OF   MORAL  THEOLOGY   AT  THE   SEMINARY   OF   LAIBACH. 


haps  be  converted  by  and  by.    At  the  time  baptized    on    this    occasion    ten.    mostly 

of  my  last  visit,  last  winter,  we  had  se-  grown  up  Indians,  who  had  been  prepar- 

lected  a  site  where  the  new  church  shall  be  ing  for  the  holy  baptism,  since  my  pre- 

built,  and  this  time  I  had  the  consolation  vious  visit. 
of  seeing  with  what  zeal  these  good  Indi- 


Letter    June  26,   1834.     Annals  VIII 


60 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


The  Grand  River  region  had  many  set- 
tlements of  Indians,  but  they  were  usually 
far  apart.  Baraga  found  it  therefore  dif- 
ficult to  visit  them  often,  which  was  nec- 
essary to  effect  conversions.  All  summer 
he  went  from  village  to  village.  His  suc- 
cess must  have  been  remarkable,  for  al- 
ready the  26th  of  June,  he  writes  to  the 
Leopoldine  Society:  "With  heartfelt  sat- 
isfaction, I  make  known  to  you  that  con- 
siderable progress  has  been  made  in  the 
conversion  of  the  poor  pagan  savages  of 
this  new  mission,  and  that  there  are  ever 
new  hopes  for  advancement.  I  have  firm 
hopes  of  bringing  to  the  fold,  through 
the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  many  pagans 
from  this  village  as  well  as  from  other 
outside  places,  within  the  precinct  of  this 
mission." 

In  September  Baraga  made  a  two  days' 
excursion  up  the  river,  in  order  to  reach 
a  small  village  of  only  five  or  six  wig- 
wams. He  had  sent  there,  during  high 
summer,  a  well  instructed  Indian,  who 
prepared  the  way  for  him.  Some  he 
found  well  disposed  and  others  stub- 
bornly resisting  the  grace  of  conversion. 
Four  whole  families,  men,  women  and 
their  children,  were  christened. 

The  last  trip  of  the  season  he  made  to 
Mash-Kigong.  Of  this  visit  he  says: 
"Every  time  I  come  to  this  mission  I  ex- 
perience much  joy  and  consolation,  when 
I  observe  the  great  zeal  which  these  good 
Indians  put  forth  in  the  exercise  of  the 
Christian  religion.  At  this  season  they  are 
not  all  at  home.  They  are  scattered  over 
the  country  to  make  more  successful 
chase  upon  the  wild  animals,  whose  valu- 
able pelts  they  exchange  with  the  fur 
traders  for  clothing,  guns,  and  other  ne- 
cessities.     Some  are   four   and  even   six 


days'  journey  out  from  the  village.  Not- 
withstanding the  distance  and  wearisome 
roads,  they  all  came  in  on  the  day  appoint- 
ed, to  the  place  where  the  chapel  of 
St.  Joseph  stands.  I  was  much  edified  at 
their  zeal,  when  upon  my  arrival,  I  found 
them  all  assembled."  He  had  here  five 
baptisms,  one  of  which  deserves  special 
mention.  A  girl  of  seventeen  years  asked 
to  be  baptized.  Her  father  was  a  stiff- 
necked  pagan  and  very  much  embittered 
against  the  Christian  religion.  When 
therefore  his  daughter  asked  for  permis- 
sion to  go  to  Mash-Kigong,  he  surmised 
her  intention.  Only  after  repeated  asking 
he  abruptly  granted  her  request  saying. 
"Go  then,  but  do  not  be  so  foolish  as  to 
become  a  Christian.  But  if  in  spite  of  my 
forbiddance,  you  become  a  Christian,  you 
have  nothing  else  to  expect  but  that  I 
will  cut  off  both  your  ears."  Baraga 
hearing  this,  earnestly  asked  her  if  in  spite 
of  that  threat  she  washed  to  become  a 
Christian.  And  she  firmly  and  empha- 
tically declared  that  she  had  resolved 
tn  become  a  Christian.  Baraga  christened 
her  on  the  day  of  his  departure.  Closing 
this  narrative  Baraga  says:  "What  lot 
has  befallen  this  Christian  heroine,  I  do 
not  know  yet.  Meanwhile  she  is  deter- 
mined to  suffer  all  for  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Considering  her  holy  disposition, 
she  will,  the  more  she  suffers,  have  the 
greater  advantages.  Every  Christian 
heart  must  feel  that  one  single  such  hap- 
pening outweighs  all  missionary  toil."  10 

Nov.  3rd,  Baraga  writes :  "I  have  now, 
concluded  my  missionary  visits.  The 
greater  part  of  summer  and  fall,  I  spent, 
as  usual,  on  mission  tours,  which  are  ab- 


10  Letter  November  3,  1834.   Annals  IX.,  p.  45. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


61 


solutely  necessary  for  the  conversion  of 
Indians,  living  in  remotest  villages,  and 
for  their  encouragement  to  persevere  in 
their  religion.  These  mission  tours  are 
fatiguing  in  themselves,  but  more  so  at 
this  late  season.  The  nights  are  becom- 
ing cold  and  one  is  often  obliged  to  sleep 
out-doors.  But  the  spiritual  gain,  by  far, 
outweights  the  sacrifice.  For,  when  I  see 
that  inmost  anxiety  of  the  savages,  who 
live  in  distant  places,  awaiting  the  arrival 
.  of  the  missionary,  and  again  when  he 
leaves,  that  childlike  request  to  come  soon 
again,  then  I  forget  all  the  difficulties  of 
traveling  and  gladly  set  out,  when  the 
time  appointed  for  the  visit  comes.  Until 
next  February  I  shall  not  go  on  any 
missions,  because  at  Christmas  all  outside 
Indians  come  here  for  the  feasts,  and  in 
February,  if  God  grants  me  life,  I  shall 
again  visit  them  in  their  sugar  camps." 

At  Christmas  the  Indians  flocked  to 
Grand  River,  just  as  Baraga  expected, 
from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  country. 
"Some  of  the  Indian  winter  habitations 
are  three  to  four  clays'  journey  distant 
from  this  mission.  Notwithstanding  this 
great  distance,  and  bad  roads,  almost  all 
came  to  Grand  River  to  go  to  confession, 
and  to  assist  for  a  few  days  at  holy  Mass. 
Among  them  were  also  old  feeble  and 
sickly  people.  Even  children  of  ten  to 
twelve  years  came  many  days  journey  to 
attend  the  Christmas  festival.  Their  ex- 
ample so  touchingly  reminds  us  of  the 
twelve  year  old  Child  Jesus,  whom  these 
Indian  children  so  lovingly  imitate." 

By  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  nego- 
tiated January  21,  1785,  the  first  por- 
tion of  Indian  land  situated  in  Michigan 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  United 
States.     After  that,  treaties  followed  in 


quick  succession.  Under  the  treaty,  at 
Chicago,  September  26,  1833,  the  last 
foot  of  ground  south  of  the  Grand  River, 
was  ceded  by  the  red  man  to  the  ever  en- 
croaching power  of  the  government.  No 
wonder  that  the  Indians  became  anxious 
for  their  native  soil,  particularly  those 
who,  by  the  influences  of  Christianity, 
have  learned  the  white  man's  way,  tilling 
the  soil  and  earning  a  livelihood  after  his 
fashion.  Baraga,  more  than  any  other 
man,  deserves  credit  for  this  transforma- 
tion from  drunken  habits  to  honorable 
thrifts.  Among  the  Indians  of  Arbre 
Croche  his  word  sufficed  to  banish  all  in- 
toxicants, and  on  the  Grand  River,  de- 
spite all  obstacles  placed  in  his  way,  his 
influence,  even  among  the  pagan  savages, 
could  not  but  be  felt.  The  non-Christian 
Indian,  by  nature  of  keen  observation, 
could  see  for  himself,  that  his  Christian 
brother  was  living  more  prosperously  than 
he.  Whence  the  difference?  The  one  fol- 
lowed the  Black-robe,  the  other  the 
whisky  peddler.  The  answer  was  plain. 
No  wonder,  therefore,  that  Baraga's 
power  over  the  red  man  was  in  the  as- 
cendency. 

In  the  spring  of  1834  rumors,  as  to  the 
removal  of  the  Indians  from  their  reser- 
vation, became  rife.  Baraga  did  not 
hesitate  to  make  his  position  clear.  He 
writes :  "Since  some  time  they  again 
strongly  speak  of  the  Government's  plan 
to  remove  all  Indians  from  civilized  states 
and  territories  of  this  Republic  into  a 
district  on  the  western  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, assigned  to  them  for  a  common 
reservation.  If  this  happens  my  Indians 
will  have  to  go  too.  My  Christians  are 
much  saddened  by  the  rumor,  but  I  have 
consoled   them    and   given   them   the   as- 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


surance,  that  I  would  never  leave  them, 
even  if  they  were  relegated  to  the  most 
inhospitable  corners  of  the  country,  as 
long  as  they  remain  banded  together, 
provided  my  Bishop  allows  me  to  go  with 
them.  This  is  my  sincere  wish  and  my 
actual  resolution.  Since  I  have,  with  so 
much  difficulty,  learned  the  language  of 
these  savages,  and  perfect  myself  in  it 
daily,  I  am  determined  to  consecrate  the 
rest  of  my  days  to  the  Indian  missions,  to 
follow  them,  no  matter  whither  they  are 
ordered  to  go,  as  long  as  it  is  the  will  of 
God,  which  will  certainly  not  fail  to  re- 
veal itself  through  the  mouth  of  the 
Bishop,  constituted  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  " 


RT.   REV.  FRF.I'FRICK  RF.SK. 


In  consequence  of  persisting  rumors, 
the  Ottawas  assembled  on  the  Grand 
River,    in     summer     1834.     in    a    grand 


"  Letter    May  -'4,   1834.     Annals    IX. 


council.  We  give  Baraga's  own  pen 
picture  of  it.  "They  came  from  all  di- 
rections and  gathered  in  this  place,  be- 
cause it  is  the  most  important  of  this  en- 
tire region.  They  gathered  in  open  air, 
having  selected  a  small  round  valley  for 
the  purpose.  In  the  centre  of  it  several 
fires  were  kindled  and  every  here  and 
there  tobacco  and  fire  were  scattered ;  also 
a  large  kettle  of  sugared  water  was 
placed  conveniently.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  valley,  they  planted  a  large  flag.  After 
these  preparations  had  been  made,  a  sign 
being  given,  the  Indians  came  from  all 
sides  walking  gravely  and  silently. 
Squaws  and  children  were  not  present. 
Silently  taking  their  places  they  formed  a 
circle  and  lighted  their  pipes.  They  re- 
mained for  a  long  time  without  speaking 
a  word,  like  once  upon  a  time  the  friends 
of  Job.  At  length  one  arose  and  said: 
"Now,  my  brothers,  why  have  you  come 
here?  What  is  your  intention?  Come, 
speak !"  Then  the  orator  from  Arbre 
Croche,  a  venerable  old  man,  and  an  ex- 
emplary Christian,  arose.  He  passed 
around  shaking  hands  with  each  Indian 
of  this  locality.  After  the  exchange  of 
manifold  salutations  and  customary  in- 
troduction, he  declared  that  all  the  In- 
dians from  Arbre  Croche  are  decided 
never  to  sell  their  lands  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States  in  order  not  to  super- 
induce misery  upon  themselves  and  their 
children. 

"Upon  concluding  his  speech  he  handed 
to  the  head-chief,  of  this  place,  a  string  of 
glass  beads,  gathered  on  a  green  piece 
of  ribbon.  Dead  silence  followed.  The 
chief  passed  the  beads  to  his  next  neigh- 
bor and  so  on  it  went  from  hand  to  hand, 
through  the  circle.     After  another  long 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


63 


pause,  many  arose,  one  after  the  other, 
walking  toward  the  speaker  and  com- 
municated to  him,  secretly,  their  senti- 
ments in  the  matter.  The  latter  then 
arose  and  went  to  the  Indians  of  Arbre 
Croche  and  shook  hands  with  them.  He 
then  declared  that  they  too,  are  deter- 
mined never  to  cede  their  lands.  Speeches 
follewed  from  both  sides,  and  they  re- 
mained in  council  the  whole  day." 

The  common  methods  of  the  govern- 
ment in  acquiring  lands  from  the  Indians 
are  well  known.  Treaties,  to  suit  the 
buyer,  were  drafted  in  Washington  and 
transmitted  to  the  resident  agent,  whose 
duty  it  became  to  obtain  the  assent  and  the 
signatures  of  his  charges.  On  the  Grand 
River  it  became  evident  enough,  after  the 
last  Grand  Council,  that  neither  the  as- 
sent nor  the  signatures  would  be  obtaina- 
ble, as  long  as  they  remained  under  the 
moral  influence  of  Baraga. 

For  those  reasons  some  writers  main- 
tain that  Baraga  was  expelled  from  the 
Grand  River.  We  do  not  doubt  that  the 
Indian  Agent  made  use  of  all  means  at 
his  command,  fair  or  foul — Indian  Agents 
are  renowned  for  unscrupulousness — to 
bring  about  the  removal  of  Baraga,  es- 
pecially, if  he  considered  him  the  cause 
of  disturbances  among  the  Indians,  and  a 
person,  who  most  likely  would  thwart  the 
plans  of  the  government.  If  the  Indian 
Agent  succeeded  in  his  designs,  he  did  so 
only  by  connivance  of  Bishop  Rese,  who, 
in  order  to  avoid  friction  between  the 
government  and  the  Church,  might  have 
used  diplomacy  in  supplanting  Baraga  by 
Viszoczky,  knowing  that  the  former 
would  not  yield  an  inch  of  what  he  con- 
sidered absolute  justice  and  right.  That 
Baraga  was,  thus,  morally  driven  away 


may  be  conceded ;  but  we  are  equally  cer- 
tain that  no  edict  of  the  government  or 
its  agents',  removed  him  from  the  Grand 
River  A'lission.  Baraga's  character  is 
sufficient  guarantee  for  the  veracity  of 
what  he  says  or  writes  to  the  Leopoldine 
Society,  dated  Detroit,  February  20th, 
18.35. 

"In  the  present  month,  February,  a 
sudden,  but  for  me  a  happy  change  has 
taken  place  in  the  mission  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  on  the  Grand  River.  Father 
Andrew  Viszoczky,  came  with  permission 
of  the  Bishop,  to  me  to  the  Grand  River, 
with  a  secret  desire  to  remain  in  the  mis- 
sion, if  our  Bishop  should  approve  of  it. 
He  surprised  me  very  much,  confiding  this 
wish  to  me.  Having  some  business  to 
transact  in  Detroit,  I  promised  to  speak 
about  the  matter  to  the  Bishop,  and  to 
abide  by  whatever  he  should  see  fit  to 
command  me.  The  Rt.  Reverend  Bishop 
was  much  pleased  when  he  saw  me,  and  at 
once  assured  me  that  it  is  perfectly  satis- 
factory to  him  if  Father  Viszoczky  re- 
mains in  the  mission  on  the  Grand  River, 
and  that  he  will  take  me  in  the  spring, 
as  soon  as  navigation  opens,  to  the  North, 
where  I  shall  start  a  new  mission.  You 
can  imagine  what  great  joy  the  words  of 
the  good  Bishop  gave  me  when  he  said 
that  he  had  selected  me  for  the  establish- 
ing of  a  new  mission."  12 

Father  Andrew  Viszoczky,  who  suc- 
ceeded Father  Baraga  in  the  Grand 
River  Mission,  was  born  at  Wallendorf, 
Hungary,  A.  D.  1796.  Upon  completing 
his  theology  in  the  Pasmaneum,  he  was 
ordained  priest  October  20,  1821,  for  the 
native  Diocese  of  Zips.     He  spent  twelve 


'-Berichte  der  Leopold.    Stiftung,  IX.,  p.  48. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


years  in  the  cura  animarum  before  com- 
ing to  America.  Leaving  his  native 
country  on  the  12th  of  May,  1833,  he 
reached  Detroit,  Michigan,  October  20th, 
of  the  same  year.  On  the  14th  of  Novem- 
ber he  arrived  at  his  first  mission,  Sainte 
Claire,  on  Lake  Huron.  About  this  he 
says :  "I  found  a  small  log  chapel  and  a 
room ;  one  poorer  than  the  other.  Rats 
and  mice  are  my  companions.  I  have  no 
schools,  no  school  teacher,  no  sexton  and 
no  Mass  servers.  I  have  absolutely  noth- 
ing. And  still  in  all  this  poverty  and 
want,  I  find  myself  at  home,  and  by  the 
grace  of  God,  satisfied,  yea,  more  satisfied, 
than  I  was  in  my  fatherland."  1S  Truly  a 
worthy  successor  to  Baraga! 

Baraga,  upon  his  removal  from  the 
Grand  River,  spent  the  remainder  of  the 
winter  in  Detroit,  ministering,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Bishop,  where  his  services 
were  most  needed.  "It  appears  to  me 
strange,  he  writes,  to  be  in  a  congregation 
of  whites.  I  am  content  here,  and  for 
that  matter,  much  more  comfortable  than 
in  the  Indian  missions,  but  I  feel  like  a 
fish  on  dry  land.  The  Indian  missions 
are  my  element.  I  could  live  comfortably, 
but  not  in  peace  and  content,  if  I  did  not 
go  any  more  on  Indian  missions.  I  have 
acquired  the  Indian  language  quite  well, 
but  hope  to  perfect  myself  in  it,  hence  I 
am  determined  to  spend  the  rest  of  my 
days,  if  God  wills,  on  Indian  missions. 
The  Indians  on  Lake  Superior  are  com- 
monly called  Chippeway  Indians.  Their 
language  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Ottawas. 
I  am  longing  for  Lake  Superior.  Many, 
I  hope,  will  be  converted  there  to  the 
Christian  religion  and  find  in  it  their  eter- 
nal salvation.     Oh,  how  the  thought  ani- 


mates and  elevates  me !  would  that  I  had 
wings  to  fly  over  our  ice-bound  lakes  so 
as  to  be  sooner  among  those  pagans!"  14 

While  at  Detroit  he  had  received  a  box 
of  church  goods,  which  made  his  spirits 
even  more  bouyant.  "Oh,  how  the  good 
Indians  will  wonder  and  rejoice  when 
they  see  these  beautiful  things  in  their 
church !"  At  last,  with  the  opening  of 
the  Lake  navigation  his  ardent  desire 
should  be  gratified.  On  the  8th  of  June  he 
left  Detroit.  We  give  his  own  narrative 
of  the  voyage. 

"After  a  long  and,  on  account  of  lack 
of  opportunity,  often  interrupted  journey, 
I  finally  arrived,  on  the  27th  of  July 
(1835)  in  the  place,  where  with  the  help 
of  God,  I  expect  to  establish  a  new  mis- 
sion. This  place  is  an  Indian  village,  where 
from  time  to  time  also  Canadian  traders 
reside,  who  traffic  with  the  Indians.  It  is 
situated  on  a  very  pleasant  island,  on  the 
south  shore  of  the  immensely  large  Lake 
Superior.  This  lake  is  the  largest  in- 
land sea  of  the  world — with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Caspian  Sea — being  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty  American  miles  long  and 
one  hundred  seventy  miles  wide  and  lies 
six  hundred  and  thirty  feet  above  the 
Atlantic  ocean.  Its  depth  is  in  many 
places  literally  unfathomable.  English 
engineers  have  tried  all  possible  ways  to 
measure  its  depths,  but  in  many  places 
could  find  no  bottom. 

"The  place,  where  I  now  reside,  called 
La  Pointe.  is  seven  hundred  and  forty 
miles  from  Detroit,  and  quite  far  to  the 
North.  I  traveled  on  this  lake  in  the 
month  of  July,  the  hottest  month,  and 
yet     some    mornings    it     was    so    cold 


13  Annals  IX.,  p.  43. 


11  Letter  dated  Detroit.  March   13,   1835-     An- 
nals   IX. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AMD  MARQUETTE 


65 


on  the  water,  that  I  was  obliged  to 
put  my  coat  over  my  cassock  and  wrap 
myself  into  my  cloak  in  order  not  to 
freeze.  On  the  /th  of  July,  ice,  to  the 
thickness  of  the  back  of  a  knife-blade,  was 
found  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 
Now,  however,  in  August  we  have  very 
hot  days;  but  the  winter  here  is  said  to  be 
very  long  and  severe. 

"I  left  Detroit  about  noon  of  the  8th 


in  the  beginning  of  June,  and  is  now  in 
Ohio,  where  the  Fathers  intend  to  es- 
tablish a  house  of  their  Order.  I  repre- 
sented to  the  good  Indians  that  their 
brethren  at  Lake  Superior,  who  have 
never  yet  seen  a  priest,  are  in  greater  need 
of  spiritual  help  than  they,  and  that 
another  missionary  will  certainly  soon 
come  to  them.  This  quieted  them  a 
little. 


CHURCH    OF    ST.    JOSEPH     AT    LA     FOINTE,    WIS.,    BUILT    BY 
BISHOP  BARAGA. 


of  June,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  10th,  I  arrived  at  Mackinac 
although  these  two  places  are  over  300 
miles  apart,  so  rapidly  do  steamers  run  in 
this  country.  In  Mackinac  I  remained 
several  days  and  used  the  opportunity  to 
pay  a  visit  to  the  Indians  at  Arbre  Croche 
They  were  very  much  pleased  to  see  me 
again  and  wished  to  keep  me  in  their 
mission,  because  the  Reverend  Father 
Simon   Saenderl  had   left  Arbre   Croche 


"I  returned  to  Mackinac  again  and 
waited  there  for  Bishop  Rese.  However, 
he  was  so  busy  at  Detroit,  that  he  could 
not  come,  and  wrote  that  he  could  not 
come  to  Mackinac  before  the  beginning  of 
August.  So  I  continued  my  journey  and 
arrived  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  on  the  4th 
of  July.  Father  Francis  Haetscher.  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Most  Holy  Re- 
deemer, is  stationed  there,  but  was  leaving 
that  same  day  for  Ohio  and  did  not  know 


66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


whether  or  not  he  would  return  to  the 
Sault. 

"On  the  ioth  of  July  I  left  the  Sault 
on  a  trading  vessel,  and  after  a  wearisome 
voyage  of  eiglitccn  days  arrived  at  La 
Pointe,  where  the  good  inhabitants  re- 
ceived me  with  great  joy.  For  many 
years  they  have  longed  for  a  priest,  and 
begged  to  have  one  sent  to  them,  but  on 
account  of  the  sad  want  of  priests  in  our 
poor  diocese,  their  wish  could  not  be 
gratified.  Hence,  their  great  joy,  when 
they  saw  a  priest  approach  their  village. 

"Truly  the  want  of  priests  in  our  dio- 
cese is  a  pitiable  one.  Would  that  some 
zealous  priests  of  my  fatherland  resolve 
to  come  to  this  wilderness,  to  rescue  from 
ruin  these  scattered  pagans  whom  one 
priest  alone  cannot  visit.  Would  it  not 
sufficiently  repay,  to  work  and  to  suffer 
much,  in  order  to  save  even  one  soul ! 
But  here  souls  are  saved  not  by  ones  but 
by  hundreds.  '  Any  priest,  who  would 
come  here,  could  with  the  help  of  God, 
save  hundreds  of  souls,  if  he  had  but  little 
of  missionary  zeal. 

"From  Sault  to  La  Pointe  is  considered 
to  be  three  hundred  and  thirty  American 
miles,  and  my  nearest  priest-neighbor  is 
now  so  far  distant.  When  I  came  here, 
and  noticed  the  good  feeling  of  my  people, 
I  immediately  began  to  encourage  them 
to  commence  the  building  of  a  church. 
They  at  once  started  to  work  with  such 
energy,  that  in  seven  days  the  church 
was  so  far  completed,  that  I  could  bless 
it  this  9th  day  of  August  (1835),  and 
also  read  Mass  in  it.  I  dedicated  it  to 
God  in  the  name  of  St.  Joseph,  this  power- 
ful intercessor  with  God.  The  building 
is  strong  and  durable,  though  constructed 
only  of  hewn  logs,  according  to  American 


fashion,  and  it  is  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  people  here,  being  fifty  feet 
long,  twenty  feet  wide  and  about  eighteen 
feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  pretty  high 
steeple,  containing  a  small  bell  which  1 
had  cast  in  Detroit. 

"The  number  of  my  catechumens  is 
considerable;  they  all  ardently  desire 
Baptism,  which  they  will  receive  as  soon 
as  they  shall  be  sufficiently  instructed.  On 
the  2nd' of  August  I  baptized  twenty-five 
more  fully  instructed  Indians  who  already 
had  some  knowledge  of  religion,  and  also 
some  children.  Between  the  3rd  and  the 
9th  of  August,  twenty  five  others  received 
holy  Baptism. 

"This  week,  we  will  begin  with  the 
building  of  my  house  in  which  there  will 
be  a  spacious  room  for  school  pur- 
poses. I  am  very  much  contented 
and  cannot  sufficiently  thank  God  that 
everything  goes  so  unexpectedly  well 
with  the  establishing  of  a  new  mis- 
sion, although  I  am  now  wholly 
without  temporal  means.  After  defray- 
ing the  expenses  of  my  trip,  I  have  three 
dollars  left.  Our  most  Reverend  Bishop 
could  not  give  me  more,  for  he  is  so 
heavily  in  debt  for  the  Cathedral  in  De- 
troit, and  the  church  in  Green  Bay,  besides 
so  many  outlays,  equipping  schools  and 
other  institutions  in  Detroit,  that  he  ex- 
pends all  moneys  for  those  purposes.  Had 
I  not  found  the  people  here  so  good,  I 
could  accomplish  nothing.  However,  this 
cannot  go  on  thus.  I  see  it  clearly.  The 
Indians  are  very  poor;  the  soil  unproduc- 
tive, because  the  climate  is  unfavorable 
to  agriculture.  The  necessary  clothing, 
which  they  obtain  from  Canadian 
traders  in  exchange  for  pelts,  so  very 
expensive    on    account    of    the    distance 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


67 


which  it  has  to  be  brought.  It 
grieves  me  to  see  their  children  running 
around  naked.  Their  parents  would 
gladly  clothe  them  if  they  had  means  to  do 
so.  How  much  would  it  recommend  the 
missionary  and  his  religion,  if  he  could 
clothe  these  poor  creatures,  even  a  little ! 
O  how  gladly  would  I  do  it,  if  I  could! 
On  the  Grand  River  and  likewise  in  Arbre 
Croche,  I  have  done  so  because  I  had 
.abundant  means,  but  at  present  I  have 
nothing. 

"Ninety  miles  from  here  is  another 
Indian  village,  called  Fond  du  Lac,  where 
there  are  also  many  Indians,  who  wish 
to  accept  the  Catholic  religion.  Through 
a  pious  fur-trader  they  have  heard  of  re- 
ligion and  the  priest,  and  now  wish  to  see 
one  also  in  their  place.  As  soon  as  I 
shall  have  attended  to  the  most  necessary 
affairs  of  this  mission.  I  shall  go  there,  so 
God  wills,'  and  spend  a  couple  of  weeks 
with  them,  in  order  to  bring  them, 
through  faith  and  Baptism,  to  the  fold 
of  Christ's  faithful  sheep. 

"I  am  told  that  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Fond  du  Lac  there  are  many  other  In- 
dians, who  often  express  themselves  that 
they,  too,  would  accept  Christian  religion, 
if  there  was  a  priest  at  Fond  du  Lac  to 
teach  them  and  their  children.  More- 
over, in  the  interior,  towards  the  north- 
west, there  are  multitudes  of  Indians,  still 
walking  the  road  to  eternal  perdition. 
Alas !  Is  it  not  extremely  sad  to  witness, 
how  many  souls  sustain  eternal  loss  and 
only  for  the  lack  of  priests!  Why  do  not 
some  Austrian  priests  make  up  their  mind 
to  come  to  the  assistance  of  these  poor 
pagans?  Would  to  God,  that  some  would 
come  to  me ;  I  could  certainly  obtain  good 
places  for  them.     Lack  of  the  knowledge 


of  languages  should  not  deter  them  from 
coming  here,  they  would  soon  learn 
them.  Let  us  pray  to  the  Lord  that  he  may 
send  laborers  to  his  vineyard!"  '"' 

During  the  entire  month  of  August 
Baraga  busied  himself  with  the  instruc- 
tion of  converts.  To  make  the  occasion 
of  Baptism  more  solemn,  he  baptized  only 
on  Sundays.  This  proved  to  be  a  great 
edification  to  the  Indians  and  gave  from 
week  to  week,  a  new  increase  in  the  in- 


ter.   REV.    PETER    PAUL   LEFEVERE,   BISHOP   OF   DETROI1 

struction  class.  He  baptized  eighty  six 
during  August.  All  this  while,  he  could 
not  forget  what  had  been  told  him  of  the 
bright  prospects  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Having 
disposed  of  the  last  catechumens,  he 
availed  himself  of  this  opportunity,  and 
journeyed  to  Fond  du  Lac.  Conditions 
there  agreeably  surprised  him.    Apprised 


1C  Letter    August  9,   1835.     Annals    IX. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


of  his  coming  the  Indians  gathered  in  the 
spacious  dwelling  of  the  French  trader, 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  instructing 
them.  "As  I  entered  the  house,"  said 
Baraga,  "they  all  knelt  asking  for  the 
blessing  which  I  accorded  to  them  from 
the  bottom  of  my  heart.  I  thanked  God 
for  the  great  grace  which  he  had  given 
to  them,  and  I  also  thanked  the  good 
man  who  by  his  good  counsels,  had  laid 
the  foundation  to  their  conversion.  This 
man,  who  makes  such  an  honorable  ex- 
ception among  ah  the  fur-traders  of  this 
country,  is  a  Canadian  Frenchman,  by  the 
name  of  Pierre  Cotte.  Over  thirty  years, 
he  has  been  fur-trading  among  the  In- 
dians of  this  section,  and  speaks  their 
language  perfectly  well.  By  a  graceful 
chance  a  copy  of  the  Ottawa  prayer-book, 
which  I  had  printed  in  1832,  in  Detroit, 
fell  into  his  hands.  Upon  that  he  com- 
menced to  invite  the  Indians  of  the  lo- 
cation to  his  house  and  sang  the  hymns, 
found  in  the  book,  to  the  well  known 
French  airs.  The  Indians  found  that  so 
nice  and  pleasant  that  they  came  every 
evening  and  stayed  often  till  midnight, 
yea,  several  times  till  day  break,  listening 
and  singing  with  him.  Noticing  their 
zeal  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  sing- 
ing of  hymns,  but  commenced  to  instruct 
them  in  Catechism,  which  had  been  added 
to  the  prayer  book,  and  also  recited  to 
them  the  morning  and  evening  prayers, 
which  they  soon  learned  by  heart."  16 

Thus  many  of  the  Indians  who  were  at- 
tending Pierre  Cotte's  concerts  and  lec- 
tures, were  actually  well  enough  prepared 
to  receive  baptism.  Baraga  baptized 
twenty-one  of  them  on  the  6th,  and  thirty 
on  the  9th  of  September. 


Letter    September  28,   1835.  An.   IX. 


During  the  month  of  September,  he 
had  christened  sixty-two.  He  exclaimed : 
"God  be  thanked  a  thousand  times!  A 
considerable  number  of  pagans  of  this 
new  mission  has  been  received  in  to  the 
Church,  namely,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
eight.  And  may  God  grant  that  all,  or 
at  least  the  greater  number  of  these  con- 
verts may  reach  Heaven!  What  a  con- 
solation for  me  on  the  day  of  Judgment !" 

The  winter  came  early.  On  the  22nd 
of  September  the  first  snow  made  its  ap- 
pearance. He  was  wholly  unprepared  for 
it.  The  winter  clothes  which  had  been 
sent  to  him  from  Detroit  failed  to  ar- 
rive. I  have  read  a  letter — written  by 
Father  Baraga  to  the  Rt.  Reverend  Rese 
in  which  he  complains,  that  his  winter 
clothes,  which  he  had  sent  him,  had  not 
arrived  yet,  that  he  is  exposed,  with  his 
light  summer  clothes,  to  the  rigors 
of  the  northern  winter." 17  But  this 
did  not  check  his  ardor.  With  ac- 
customed eagerness  he  took  up  the 
instructions  and  devoted  his  spare 
time  to  writing.  Early  in  the  winter  he 
baptized  thirty-three  more.  He  particu- 
larly mentioned  among  these  a  squaw 
"who  is  about  a  hundred  years  old.  She 
does  not  know  her  age,  as  Indians  seldom 
do,  but  she  knows,  from  personal  experi- 
ence, events  which  happened,  according  to 
an  old  Canadian,  who  has  lived  on  this  Is- 
land over  fifty-three  years  and  has  heard 
spoken  of  then,  as  a  century  ago.  This 
good  old  woman  was  exceedingly  happy 
after  she  was  baptized.  She  is  a  good- 
natured  creature  and  lives  as  innocently 
as  a  child.  I  confidently  hope  that  she 
will  die  in  her  baptismal  innocence.  Three 

"Letter  of  Joseph  Prost,  C.  SS.  R.,  Novem- 
ber 12,  1835.     An.  IX.,  p.  66. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


69 


of  her  grand  children  were  baptized  with 
her  and  her  youngest  grand  child,  a  man 
of  forty,  was  christened  on  Christmas."  1S 

Whole  families  accepted  Christianity 
and  were  baptized  at  the  same  time. 
Baraga  says  about  them:  "Such  bap- 
tisms vividly  recall  the  first  Christian  era 
when  the  Apostles  baptized  whole  fami- 
lies at  once.  The  father  to  the  right  and 
the  mother  to  the  left,  with  her  baby  on 
her  arms,  together  with  four  or  five 
children,  they  all  receive  the  great  grace 
of  holy  Baptism.  O  what  a  joyous  pur- 
chase!   How  meritorious!" 

On  Christmas  1S35  Baraga  had 
several  such  christenings.  "The  prepara- 
tion of  catechumens  who  were  baptized  on 
Christmas  cost  me  a  great  deal  of  exer- 
tion. They  wintered  in  the  woods,  three 
miles  from  my  house.  To  instruct  them 
better  I  walked  to  them  every  evening,  for 
an  entire  month,  and  upon  giving  them  a 
sign,  with  a  small  bell,  they  gathered  in  a 
more  spacious  hut.  Besides  the  severe 
cold,  which  prevailed  during  the  month, 
I  endured  the  inconvenience  of  giving  the 
instruction  at  night,  because  they  spent 
the  day  in  fishing  and  trapping.  As  a 
rule,  I  gave  them  a  long  instruction,  and 
on  account  of  that  came  home  late.  How- 
ever, I  have  done  it  with  pleasure  and 
felt  greatly  recompensed  for  it,  because 
on  Christmas  clay  I  baptized  twenty-two 
pagans;  all,  except  two,  being  adults, 
able  to  answer  the  questions  themselves. 
There  should  have  been  twenty-five,  but 
three  will  be  christened  on  New  Year's 
day.  Thus  I  have  already  one  hundred 
and  eighty-four  Baptisms  recorded  in  the 
Baptismal  register  of  this  new  five  month 
old,  mission." 


On  account  of  the  extremely  long 
winter  Baraga  found  time,  aside  of  the 
missionary  labors,  also  for  literary  work. 
He  wrote:  1.  The  Meditation  on  the 
four  last  Christian  truths,  in  the  Slov- 
enian language.  2.  History,  Character, 
Life  and  Manners  of  the  North  American 
Indian,  in  German.  Both  these  books 
were  published  in  Laibach,  by  Anton 
Clemens,  and  the  latter  also  translated 
into  Slovenian. 19  3.  A  Prayer  book  in 
the  Chippewa  language.  4.  The  Life  of 
Jesus  Christ,  also  in  Chippewa.  The  last 
two  were  printed  in  Paris.2" 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  what  kind 
of  postal    service    Baraga    had    while    at 
La  Pointe,  Wisconsin.    He  writes  about  a 
letter  which  he  had  sent  to  the  Leopoldine 
society,  the  following:   "It  is  just  three 
months  since  I   sent   in  my   last   report. 
This    uncommonly    long    interval    is    not 
due  to  my  negligence,  but  more  to  the 
lack  of  opportunity  to  send   the  letters. 
We  have  no  post  office  here  and  in  the 
winter  not  even  an  opportunity  to  send 
off   our   letters,   but   we   must   send   ex- 
pressly a  messenger  to  Sault  Ste.   Marie ; 
from  there  another  goes  to  Mackinac,  and 
from  there  a  third  to  Detroit.     One  can- 
not travel  in  winter,  from  here  to  Detroit 
— a  distance  of  seven  hundred  and  forty 
American   miles — except   on    foot.    Thus 
our  letters,  must  be  carried  by  messengers 
to  Detroit,  from  where  mail  goes  out  reg- 
ularly,  winter   and   summer.    Our   letter 
carrier  will  leave  here  on  the  14th  of  Jan- 
uary 1836,  and  most  likely  our  letters  will 
not    reach    Detroit    before    the    first    of 
March."  21 


18  Letter    December  28,  1835. 


10  Dr.  Voncina,  Life  of  Baraga. 

20  Letter    June  17,   1836.     Annals.   X.,  p.  42. 

21  Letter   Dec.  28,  1835.     Annals    X. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


At  last.  Baraga's  fervent  appeals  to  the 
fellow  priests  of  his  native  diocese  found 
an  echo.  Father  Francis  Pierz,  a  secular 
priest,  arrived  at  Detroit  on  the  i8th  of 


to  spend  the  winter  at  Lacroix,  a  sub- 
station of  Arbre  Croche.22  Baraga  was 
anxiously  awaiting  his  compatriot.  To 
place    the    Fond    du    Lac    mission,    for 


MR.   PETER  CREBASSA   AND  HIS  WIFE   NANCY,   BORN   ROUSSAIN;  THE   WORTHY 

COUPLE    WHO    EXTENDED    HOSPITALITY    TO    FATHER    BARAGA    WHEN     HE 

ARRIVED   AT   l'ANSE   IX    lX_j;, 

September,    1835.    and    was    assigned    to      which     Pierz     was     destined,     in     good 

Baraga  as  assistant  in  his  Lake  Superior     order,    Baraga   went   there   on   the   26th 

Missions.     Unfortunately  he  could  only     

.     ,T      ,  .  ,       ,  ,  r  ',  "Letter  of  Father   Pierz,  dated  Lacroix,  May 

reach  Mackinac  by  boat  and  was  forced      ,    l83g    Annals  X. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


71 


of  May,  and  remained  there  two  weeks 
"I  found  the  Indians  in  the  best  of  order. 
It  is  admirable  how  these  poor  Indians 
can  keep  their  religion  without  having 
a  missionary  among  them.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, that  they  may  get  one  yet  this  sum- 
mer, for  the  Rev.  Father  Francis  Pierz 
who  wanted  to  come  to  this  region  last 
fall,  but  for  lack  of  traveling  opportunity 
had  to  winter  in  Arbre  Croche  is  destined 
for  the  Fond  du  Lac  mission,  where  the 
good  Indians,  being  informed  of  it,  are 
expecting  him  with  great  anxiety.  Doubt- 
less, he  will  be  able  to  do  a  great  deal  of 
good  among  them."  23 

This  was  never  to  be,  as  events  proved 
afterwards — On  this  occasion  Baraga 
baptized  fourteen  Indians,  among  them  a 
chief.  This  made  a  total  of  two  hundred 
and  thirteen — on  his  baptismal  Register. 
And  by  the  eleventh  of  August  this  num- 
ber of  converts  had  been  increased  toJ;wo 
hundred  and  fifty  five.  No  wonder  that 
Baraga's  solicitude  grew  with  the  number 
of  his  converts.  Particularly  at  La  Pointe, 
where  the  church  so  hastily  built  within  a 
week,  was  wholly  inadequate  to  hold  all 
who  came  to  attend  divine  services.  There 
were  no  means  on  hand,  however,  to  en- 
large it,  and  Baraga  resolved  to  make  an 
appeal,  to  his  country  men  and  his  bene- 
factors, in  person.  He  concluded  to  go 
to  Europe.  "This  mission,"  he  writes, 
"surpassing  all  my  expectations,  has  be- 
come so  large,  that  I  am  confronted  by 
the  pleasant  and  consoling  necessity  of  en- 
larging our  mission  church,  for,  outside 
of  the  newly  converted  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  there  are  also  many  French-Cana- 
dians here,  who  are  all  Catholics  and  reg- 
ularly   attend    church    on    Sundays,    and 

23  Letter    June  17,  1836. 


many  are  compelled  to  attend  at  Mass  in 
front  of  the  church  door  or  below  the 
windows,  the  church  not  being  large 
eno;  h  to  hold  them  all.  Fortunately, 
circumstances  prevented  me  from  com- 
pleting the  church  inside,  hence  the  en- 
larging of  it  will  not  cost  much.  If  God 
grants  me  life,  and  I  return  from  Europe 
safe,  I  expect  to  complete  the  church."  24 

Baraga  left  La  Pointe  September  29, 
( 1836)  and  arrived  in  Detroit,  October 
15th.  Here  he  spent  a  week  waiting  for 
the  letters  of  recommendation  which 
Hishop  Rese  was  busy  preparing  to  the 
Societies  for  the  Propagation  of  Faith 
at  Paris,  Lyons,  Rome,  Naples,  Munich 
and  Vienna.  He  arrived  in  London  on 
the  1st  of  December.  In  Paris  he  re- 
mained almost  two  months,  superintend- 
ing the  printing  of  the  two  books,  which 
he  had  written  the  winter  before.  Here 
he  also  met  his  widowed  sister,  Antonia 
de  Hoeffern,  who  had  gone  to  Paris  to 
acquire  French,  preparatory  to  devoting 
herself  as  a  teacher  in  the  Indian  Mis- 
sions. She  came  with  her  brother  to  La 
Pointe,  but  after  spending  two  years 
there,  her  failing  health  corrtpelled  her  to 
return  to  Laibach.  At  her  parting,  Bar- 
aga gave  her  the  following  token  of  his 
love,  being  an  acrostic  of  her  name  and 
being  written  in  the  languages  Baraga 
spoke. 

Angel  Boshji  najtc  vedno  spremlja, 
Nic  verlasse  Dick  des  Himmels  Schutz, 
Tuta  sis  et  salva  in  aetermim, 
Observes  ton  jours  la  loi  de  Dieu, 
Nuovo  sempre  sia  il  J'ostro  zelo, 
Imitate  the  Saviors  holy  life, 
Angwamisin,    miiio    biiuadisin. 

Mission  Z it  in  hi.  Joseph  in  N.  America, 

21  Letter    August  11,  1836. 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


in  Jitli,  1839,  Dcin  Dick  ewig  liebender 
Bruder,  Friedrich  Baraga,  m.s.  pr. 

From    Paris   Baraga    went   to   Rome, 
thence  to  Vienna,  where  he  arrived  April 
17,   1837.     He  paid  a  brief  visit  to  his 
native  province,   Carniolia.      In   Laibach 
and  other  places  he  preached  in  the  Slo- 
venian   and    German    languages    to    im- 
mense multitudes.     In  Doebernig,  in  the 
church  of  St.  George,  where  he  had  been 
baptized,    he    was    so    overcome    by    the 
sweet  recollection  of  the  happy  moment 
of  Baptism,  that  renewing  with  greatest 
fervor  his  baptismal  vows,  he  knelt  al- 
most a   whole  hour  at  the   font,   where 
forty  years  before  he  had   received  the 
sacrament  of  regeneration.25     In  Vienna 
he  gave  the  directors  of  the  Leopoldine 
Society  a  more   explicit  account   of   his 
mission.     He  was  also  received  in  audi- 
ence by  the  royal  family  and  was  dined  by 
the  renowned  Prince  Metternich.     Abun- 
dant   donations,    in    money    and    church 
goods,  came  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the 
Austrian   Empire.      The   purpose   of  his 
journey   had   been    amply   accomplished. 
On  the  24th  of  May  ( 1837)  he  left  Havre 
on  a  sail  boat.     It  took  him  fifty  days  to 
cross  the  Atlantic,  arriving  in  New  York, 
July  1 2th.     More  annoying  were  the  dif- 
ficulties  which   he   experienced   with   his 
church   goods    freight.      On    account    of 
which  he  was  delayed  for  several  days  in 
many  places.    He  arrived  at  La  Pointe  on 
the  8th   of  October.     Too  late   for  any 
work  on  the  church.     He  therefore  de- 
voted himself  during  the  winter  entirely 
to  the  instruction  of  Indians. 

Early    in    the    spring  the  enlargement 
of  the  church  was  commenced,  and  con- 


tinued all  summer.  "The  completion  of 
this  church  particularly  inside  has  taken 
away  considerable  of  my  time,  for  I  had 
to  be  present  the  most  of  the  time,  first  to 
lay  out  the  work  and  to  encourage  the 
men  working.  Workmen  in  this  country 
are  very  expensive,  and  besides  difficult 
to  be  had.  For  this  reason  I  myself  had 
to  help,  especially  when  we  were  furnish- 
ing the  church.  Thus  after  much  worry, 
exertion  and  expenditure  we  succeeded 
in  completing  this  mission  church  on  the 
1st  of  September,  to  the  general  joy  and 
admiration  of  my  Christians. 

"It  is  built  of  wood,  of  course,  but  the 
inside,  being  plastered  and  white  washed 
it  appears  as  if  built  of  solid  masonry 
The  eighteen  oil  paintings  which  repre- 
sent the  Birth,  Death  and  the  glorious 
Ascension  of  Jesus  Christ  contribute 
magnificently  to  its  decoration.  Indeed, 
they  not  only  serve  as  decorations  but 
facilitate  the  instruction  of  Indians  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  religion  as  well  as  in  the 
life  of  the  Redeemer.  The  large  picture. 
over  the  altar  painted  by  Langus  in  Lai- 
bach is  an  excellent  representation  of  St. 
Joseph  in  his  workshop.  The  holy  Vir- 
gin Mary  is  seated  on  one  side,  while  the 
Infant  Jesus  looks  on  at  his  foster-father 
working.  It  is  especially  fitting  for  an 
Indian  mission,  because  the  Indians  are 
naturally  indolent.  Missionaries  are  often 
compelled  to  animate  them  to  work,  and 
a  more  sublime  example  of  industry, 
than  the  Holy  Family,  we  could  not  place 
before  them."  26 

In  the  month  of  July,  Baraga  had  the 
pleasure  of  a  visit  from  Father  Francis 
Pierz.      He  was   on   his   way  to   Grand 


1  Verwyst,  p.  185. 


"Letter     September    17,    1838.      Annals     XII., 
p.  69. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


73 


Portage  where  he  was  ordered  to  estab- 
lish a  new  mission. 

The  church  was  dedicated  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  September,  September  2nd, 
1838.  A  general  feast  of  thanksgiving 
was  observed.  Another  great  solemnity 
followed  immediately.  "The  second  Sun- 
day in  September  was  again  a  day  of  joy 
for  my  mission.     We  had  on  that  day. 


ment  of  Confirmation,  I  have  always  told 
them,  that  it  can  be  given  only  by  a 
bishop.  I  have  told  them  that  they,  too, 
will  receive  it  as  soon  as  the  Bishop  comes 
to  visit  us.  Their  joy  was  therefore  gen- 
uine, to  have  the  opportunity,  already 
this  summer.  September  9th  the  Bishop 
celebrated  a  Pontifical  High-Mass,  and 
preached    in    French    to    the    Canadians. 


I! 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  OF  l'ANSE.     ERECTED  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  PRESENT  ASSININS  ORPHAN    ASYLUM. 


for  the  first  time,  Confirmation.  The  Rt. 
Reverend  Bishop  Rese  arrived  here  unex- 
pectedly on  the  evening  of  September  7th. 
We  did  not  hope  to  see  him  this  summer. 
The  surprise  and  our  joy  was  therefore 
general.  All  the  Christians  of  this  place, 
Indians  and  Canadians,  flocked  together 
to  receive  the  episcopal  blessing.  The 
most  of  these  had  never  seen  a  bishop. 
Instructing   the   converts   on   the    Sacra- 


After  Mass  he  spoke  to  the  Indians  in 
French,  and  I  translated  it  to  them.  Upon 
that  he  confirmed  one  hundred  and  twelve 
persons.2' 

Bishop  Rese  left  the  Island  towards 
evening,  of  the  same  Sunday.  Otherwise 
he  would  have  been  compelled  to  remain 
a  fortnight,  awaiting  the  return  of  an- 
other boat.     Before  leaving,  he  appointed 


"  Ibidem. 


74 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  Of 


Father  Baraga  his  Vicar  General  for  the 

territory  of  Wisconsin.21* 

This  was  the  good  Bishop's  last  visit 
to  the  northern  missions.  The  arduous 
work,  which  the  immense  territory  of 
his  Diocese,  exacted  of  him  was  too  much 
for  his  physical  strength.  He  felt  him- 
self enfeebled  and  resigned  in  April  1837, 
but  the  Hoi}'  Father  refused  to  accept  his 
resignation  and  ordered  him  to  come  to 
Rome  to  substantiate  his  reasons  for  so 
doing,  in  person.  He  obeyed,  but  when 
he  arrived  in  Rome,  in  1839,  softening  of 
the  brain  had  set  in,  and  he  was  immedi- 
ately retired,  leaving  him  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Detroit.  He  remained  in 
Rome  till  the  Revolution  of  1849;  there- 
upon he  retired  into  the  Diocese  of  Mini- 
ster, Westphalia,  and  was  cared  for  by 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  their  Hospital 
at  Kloppenburg,  until  death  relieved  him 
of  all  earthly  misery,  December  29,  1871. 

In  September  1840  appointment  came 
to  Father  J.  M.  Odin-"  as  Administrator 
of  Detroit  but  he  absolutely  refused  the 
episcopal  honor.  A  zealous  and  worthy 
missionary  was  the  next  selection,  with 
the  instruction,  from  Rome,  that  a  refusal 
will  not  be  countenanced,  and  the  Rever- 
end Peter  Paul  Lefevere  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Zela  i.  p.,  and  made  Apostolic 
administrator  of  Detroit. 

The  St.  Joseph  mission  had  become  a 
regular,  though  yet,  a  small  parish.  The 
church,  neat  and  quite  large,  was  equip- 
ped with  an  altar,  seats,  and  even  a  pul- 
pit. There  was  a  regular  choir,  of  which 
the  leader  was  being  paid  for  his  services 
by    the    congregation.      Three    duly    ap- 


.2i  Ibidem. 

L"  March  6.   1842,   made,   in   obedience,   Bishop 
of  Claudiopolis  and  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Texas. 


pointed  trustees,  two  grown  up  mass- 
servers,  and  a  sexton.  The  dwelling  for 
the  missionary  was  comfortable.  And  a 
cemetery  was  laid  out  along  side  of  the 
church. 

During  the  winter  of  1838-39,  Baraga 
employed  his  spare  time  composing  an- 
other book,  which  he  considered  most 
necessary  for  his  Indians.  The  book  was 
called  Gagikwe-masinaigan.  It  contained 
an  extract  of  the  Old  Testament,  of  the 
acts  of  the  Apostles  and  of  the  letters 
together  with  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  for 
all  Sundays  and  festivals  of  the  year.  It 
was  printed  by  Joseph  A.  Hermann,  Cin- 
cinnati Ohio,  in   1858. 

About  this  time  he  had  also  written 
in  the  Slovenian  language  "Zlata  jabel- 
ka,"  (Golden  Apples).  It  was,  however, 
printed  first  in  1844  by  Blasnik  in  Lai- 
bach.  This  book  is  in  circulation  to  this 
day  and  much  cherished  by  his  country- 
men. 

In  the  summer  of  1840  Baraga  bought 
in  New  York  a  bell  weighing  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy  seven  pounds,  and  cost 
F.O.B.,  one  hundred  and  seventy  eight 
dollars.  It  was  brought  to  La  Pointe  on 
the  _'d  of  October.  By  this  time  he  had 
come  to  realize  that,  through  the  increase 
of  Canadians  and  half-breeds,  the  church 
had  become  too  small.  He  resolved,  dur- 
ing the  coming  summer,  1841,  to  tear 
down  the  church  and  with  addition  of 
new  material  erect  a  larger  and  more 
suitable  one.  It  proved  to  be  a  greater 
undertaking  than  he  had  estimated. 
"Since  I  have  been  here,  he  writes,  my 
congregation  has  considerably  increased, 
partly  through  conversions,  partly  by  new 
settlers,  so  much  so,  that  I  am  again  con- 
fronted by  the  pleasurable  necessity  of  en- 


^& 


fcs  I  ^ 


fSiUf  n!!H?{yk4mi 


x 


mnih 


ill  h  #$i 


$ 


,;  nil  «<\m  i-u  ^rs 


ianrNiws 


.  I 


$-\  1 1 


fHH* 


mmm  num* 


■  ^  i. 


\  ^ 


HH^eJi1! 


&.US 


111  or 


i 


» 


i  r 


5  i 


S 

*« 


*\ 


76 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


larging  my  church.  It  is  now  almost 
completed.  Inside  it  is  actually  fur- 
nished, only  on  the  outside  some  things 
remain  to  be  done.  Besides,  building  ex- 
penses have  run  up  higher  than  I  had 
calculated,  and  I  find  myself  considerably 
indebted.  Yet  I  hope,  with  the  help  of 
God,  to  pay  all.30 

Paying  of  church  debts  is  not  an  easy 
matter  even  in  our  days  when  resources 
are  greater.  How  much  more  in  those 
days !  Baraga  owed  the  Trading  Com- 
pany the  sum  of  four  hundred  dollars. 
Little,  if  anything,  could  come  from  his 
congregation,  hence  he  depended  entirely 
on  his  friends  in  Austria.  But  even  from 
there,  the  help  did  not  come  fast  enough. 
The  company  looked  for  its  money.  In 
this  dilemma  Baraga  wrote  to  His  Grace, 
the  Archbishop  of  Vienna,  a  letter  in 
which  he  unwittingly  revealed  how  sensi- 
tive he  was  about  dunning.  He  says :  "In 
this  present  embarrassment  I  humbly 
undertake  to  write  to  you.  Last  summer 
Father  Pierz  wrote  to  me,  that  he  had 
received  from  Vienna  the  assurance 
of  a  significant  help  from  the  Leo- 
poldine  Society  for  himself  and  me.  Re- 
lying upon  this,  I  renovated  my  church 
and  contracted  an  indebtedness  of  four 
hundred  dollars  with  the  Trading  Com- 
pany. However,  to  this  day  the  assis- 
tance has  not  reached  me,  and  the 
Company  to  whom  I  owe  the  above  sum, 

30  Letter  August  27,  1841.  A.  XV. 


commenced  to  dun  me,  as  they  have  done 
so  even  today.  Therefore  I  take  the  lib- 
erty to  beg  your  Princely  Grace  to  have 
the  above  sum  forwarded  to  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Paul  Pierre  Lefevere,  Bishop  of  Detroit, 
with  the  special  injunction  that  it  is  for 
my  mission.  I  hope  that  your  Princely 
Grace  will  not  consider  this,  my  most 
humble  request,  as  indiscreet.  I  am  not 
laboring  here  for  my  own  interests,  as 
merchants  do,  but  solely  to  carry  out  the 
purpose  for  which  individual  members  of 
the  Leopoldine  Society  give  their  small 
contributions,  namely,  the  conversion  of 
savages,  and  the  sanctification  of  the  con- 
verts in  this  so  wild  and  inhospitable, 
strange  land  where  all  civilized  comforts 
are  wanting.  Besides  this  request  is  the 
first  of  its  kind,  and  I  assure  your  Princely 
Grace  that  after  my  church  debt  is  paid, 
I  shall  never  be  so  persistent,  but  shall 
content  myself  with  what  your  Princely 
Grace,  or  other  benefactors  of  missions 
may  willingly  send  me."  31 

This  letter  had  its  intended  effect.  Ac- 
cording to  our  postal  facilities,  a  long 
time  elapsed  before  the  money  reached 
Baraga.  On  the  12th  of  September, 
1843,  he  gratefully  acknowledges  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  letter,  and  although  the 
money  had  not  yet  come,  he  says:  "I  am 
able  only  to  thank  your  Grace,  the  good 
God  will  repay  you."  32 


31  Letter  October  12,  1842.  A.  XVI. 
z-  Letter  September  12,  1843.    A.  XVII. 


Chapter      III. 

Baraga  establishes  the  mission  at  L'Anse. — Writes  his  Indian  Grammar. 

He  visits  Eagle  Harbor,  his  first  'white  mission. 

His  activity  at  L'Anse. 


Amidst  his  labors  at  La  Pointe,  Baraga 
had  been  receiving  letters  from  other 
places  requesting  him  to  kindly  accord 
them  a  visit.  One  of  these  was  from 
L'Anse.  Mr.  Crebassa  relates  his  corre- 
spondence in  the  following  letter.  "I  will 
now  give  a  few  facts  regarding  Reverend 
Father  Baraga,  the  second  priest  who 
came  to  L'Anse.  (The  first  was  Rene 
Menard,  S.  J.  in  1660.)  I  came  to 
LAnse  in  1837,  and  was  employed 
by  the  American  Fur  Company.  An 
old  chief  named  Penaushi  came  to  see 
me  every  Sunday.  I  had  an  old  Bible, 
printed  in  the  French  language  in  the 
year  181 5,  and  the  old  chief  used  to  re- 
quest me  to  read  to  him  from  the  book 
and  explain  it,  which  I  did  to  the  best  of 
my  ablity.  He  desired  to  know  if  I  could 
get  a  priest  to  come  here,  and  I  replied 
that  I  would  write  to  Father  Baraga,  who 
was  then  at  La  Pointe,  Wisconsin,  and 
was  the  only  priest  in  this  portion  of  the 
Country.  Accordingly  I  wrote  to  Father 
Baraga,  explaining  matters,  and  invited 
him  to  come.  That  was  in  1840.  He  re- 
plied that  he  could  not  leave  La  Pointe, 
as  he  had  a  church  and  a  large  congre- 
gation there.  Each  year  I  wrote  to  him, 
and  at  last,  in   1843,  I  received  the  fol- 


lowing letter,  written  in  French,  which 
is  correctly  translated  in  English. 

"Mr.  Pierre  Crebassa,  My  Dear 
Friend — I  received  your  letter  on  the  6th 
of  the  month  with  great  pleasure,  and  I 
think  I  am  obliged  to  accept  your  invita- 
tion. There  is  now  a  three  years'  resis- 
tance to  the  invitation  to  go  to  L'Anse, 
for  I  don't  like  to  leave  my  children,  but 
now  I  cannot  resist  any  longer,  for  I 
think  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  I  go.  It's 
for  that  reason  I  promise  you,  I  shall  go 
to  L'Anse,  if  God  will  let  me  live.  I  think 
I  shall  go  in  the  schooner  of  Mr.  Menden- 
hall,  the  "Algonquin,"  in  the  beginning 
of  May,  and  I  shall  go  to  the  'Soo,'  for 
the  schooner  will  not  go  to  L'Anse,  and 
from  the  Soo  I  shall  get  some  opportun- 
ity to  go  to  your  place. 

"Dear  Sir,  I  pray  you  tell  your  In- 
dians if  I  see  that  they  will  join  the  Cath- 
olic religion  I  will  stay  with  them  the  fore 
part  of  the  summer,  and  I  will  go  back 
with  you  in  the  month  of  July  to  La 
Pointe.  You  can  also  tell  your  Indians 
that  if  I  see  that  they  embrace  the  Cath- 
olic religion  in  great  numbers,  I  shall  try 
to  stay  with  them,  if  I  can,  and  get 
another  in  my  place  at  La  Pointe,  if  our 


78 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Superior,  the  Bishop,  gives  his  consent.  I 
am,  dear  Sir,  your  sincere  friend, 

Frederic  Baraga, 
Missionary  Priest. 

La  Pointe,  March  13th,  1843."  ' 

To  fulfill  his  promise,  Baraga  actually 
arrived  in  L' Arise  on  the  24th  of  May 
(1843)  and  remained  twenty  days.  Even 
during  this  short  stay  some  Indians  were 
converted  and  baptized.  This  fact  Baraga 
recorded  on  the  first  pages  of  the  Bap- 
tismal record,  still  kept  at  the  Mission, 
the  verbatim  copy  is  given  elsewhere  in 
this  book. 

While  at  L'Anse,  Baraga  was  accorded 
hospitality  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Crebassa, 
who  also  placed  half  of  the  dwelling  at  his 
disposal  that  he  might  say  Mass  there  and 
give  instructions.  After  twenty  days  so- 
journ in  L'Anse.  he  returned  in  a  canoe 
accompanied  by  two  men,  to  La  Pointe. 
Upon  his  arrival  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Cre- 
bassa the  following  English  letter : 

"Mr.  P.  Crebassa,  L'Anse.  Mich.,  Dear 
Sir — I  write  you  only  a  few  lines  to  thank 
you  for  all  your  charity  and  goodness  to 
me.  I  am  unable  to  recompense  you  for 
all  your  kindness  and  services.  I  pray  to 
God  that  He  may  do,  what  I  cannot,  and 
that  He  may  bless  you  in  this  world  and 
in  the  next. 

"I  hope  you  do  on  Sundays,  as  I  re- 
quested of  you  before  I  left  your  place, 
for  the  good  work.  Also  that  Almighty 
God  may  recompense  you.  I  beg  you  to 
continue  this  good  work  as  long  as  you 
remain  there. 

"Our  voyage  has  been  somewhat  disa- 
greeable, but  short.  We  arrived  here  on 
Friday  at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
Your  men  intended  to  start  the  following 


day,  but  Isidore  felt  a  little  wanting  in 
energy,  but  they  will  start  tomorrow 
morning.  You  will  please  give  these  little 
incidents  to  Marimann. 

With  much  respect,  your  sincere  friend. 
Frederic   Baraga. 

"The  beads  you  will  give  to  Nancy, 
together  with  my  friendly  salutation. 

La  Pointe,  June  18th,   1843." 2 

Prospects  for  more  conversions  and  the 
establishment  of  a  new  mission,  at 
L'Anse,  proved  exceedingly  bright 
Here,  Baraga's  self  sacrifice  and  unsel- 
fishness show  themselves  more  than  at 
any  other  moment  in  his  life.  It  was  the 
conversion  of  souls,  and  not  comfort  lie 
sought.  He  writes  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Vienna,  Sept.  12th,  1843:  "I  have  now 
concluded  to  establish,  this  fall,  a  mission 
on  Lake  Superior,  some  one  hundred  and 
eighty  miles  from  here.  It  will  be,  as  I 
hope,  according  to  the  promises  and  as- 
surances of  the  pagans  living  there,  for 
the  salvation  of  many  souls.  Here  in  La 
Pointe  conversions  of  pagans  are  now 
very  rare.  Hence,  I  desire  to  preach  else- 
where the  Gospel  to  the  pitiable  pagan  In- 
dians. I  am  certain  of  gaining  more  of 
them  where  I  intend  to  start  a  new  mis- 
sion, than  here.  Ah,  what  a  consolatii  in, 
what  an  unspeakable  pleasure  to  gain  im- 
mortal souls  for  Jesus  Christ! 

"For  the  establishing  of  new  missions 
a  little  assistance  is  always  necessary.  A 
chapel,  house  and  a  school  have  to  be 
built.  It  is  true,  these  buildings  are  con- 
structed only  of  wood,  but  the  builders 
have  to  be  fed  and  paid.  If  your  Princely 
Grace  would  again  send  me,  next  spring, 
a  small  pecuniary  assistance,  it  would  cer- 
tainlv   be  a    seasonable   benefit   unto   the 


1  Verwyst,  p.  206. 


"  Verwyst,  p.  208. 


-*'  *Y  i 


3    >S 


^  N*  ^  ^            'si                          -V 

C  \  5  v      ^     ^      ^ 

5      S  2  ^ 

3  *. 


j 


$  S  ^  s$   * 1 N 


I' 


,  s 


S*  x    5    S  **  -'v 


<a> 


^  J  "I  |--ol  4 1   Uh 


5«  -s-    S     v. 


*S 


5    r :  "3    *    5    d  "x  V: 


"^  5>  2 


S^    5 


^ 


^sJlU 


•—  M 


^  ^  -e  ^  ^ 


5  >  3 
3    >►    $  -|  n|  \  H    fc    §  ^    *  ^    ^^    s.    5    *  ^  ^  .«  ^  ^   .5    &  S    *    ?  ^'   ^ 


-  -5.  ^  • 


e  -^  i 


VR    - 


X 


5  ^'^    3    5 


3 


3.  j  1  k^:3i  ilJT^  U-ni  it 


x: 


^v 


^  s  . 


00 


n2  vs  ^    3    .    •§ 
5     3   • 


3  ^j  ^  ^-  •&  ■&-  a  3   2  ^  ■- 


^  3  ^    '5  >2 


5  §  ^2^ 


S     3  n: 


-   ^ 


D  ^  ^ 


5    S 


■^ 


14  i4  ^^  t  ^  4  1  ^^'  1 1 


v 


5  ^  jj  *    s 


:    ^  ^  i_.S 


5     5j    •*    3 


\|^|.^  .U^ 


1^    ^^ 


^  v  v]  ^  v5   4    S  i.^%5    ;  ^  ^  S: 


■v;     m  ^s     5     %     -     ^  ^»j'  n ; 


^     'i 


^S" 


1 


^ 


>  ^    \\j  S2  >=>        ft  v^  .  m 


1 

V5|    •«    ? 


Kvj 


?      >  V-     2"    S      3      i      4  'J     '3      <    h  ^    '^     J-    <s  Si'    *    «     V  y      R    •<•    ^      '- 


g 

3 


80 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


eternal  salvation  of  many  precious  souls. 
Oh,  the  salvation  of  a  single  immortal 
soul  is  more  worth  than  all  the  millions  of 
this  world !"  3 

If  Baraga  had  been  driven  from  Grand 
River,  as  some  would  have  it,  here,  at 
least,  nothing  compelled  him  to  leave  the 
so  well  organized  and,  we  may  say,  so 
well  equipped  mission,  unless  he  quitted  it 
himself. 

Baraga  came  to  L'Anse  a  second  time 
on  the  24th  of  October  1843.  This  time 
with  the  intention  of  establishing  a  per- 
manent mission  and  to  remain  there. 
With  the  help  of  the  already  converted 
Indians,  and  of  all  who  would  lend  a  will- 
ing hand,  he  commenced  building  a  log 
church  and  an  adjoining  presbytery,  all 
under  one  roof.  The  upbuilding  ot  the 
congregation  was  also  earnestly  begun. 
"Soon  after  my  arrival,"  Father  Baraga 
writes,  "I  started  an  Indian  school;  in 
this  work  I  am  assisted  by  some  pious 
and  able  individuals,  whom  I  have 
brought  with  me  from  La  Pointe.  I  have 
fifty  one  scholars  of  whom  twenty  are 
boys,  three  men,  nineteen  girls  and  nine 
women.  These  are  taught  first  to  read, 
and  are  instructed  in  Catechism ;  after 
that  they  learn  to  write  and  count.  Most 
of  my  scholars  learn  to  read  readily,  be- 
cause they  find  much  pleasure  in  it.  Some 
of  them  have  learned  to  read  in  less  than 
two  months."  4 

Thus  the  good  Father  Baraga  seems  to 
have  been  again  right  in  his  element. 
Teaching  and  catechising  Indians,  was 
his  supreme  happiness.  "My  mission 
progresses  well  and  I  cease  not  to  thank 

3  Annals  XVII. 

1  Letter,  February  12,   1844.     A.  XVIII. 


the  good  God  for  it!  In  this  short  time 
of  my  being  here  I  have  had  many  con- 
soling conversions  of  Indians,  and  there 
are  still  many  preparing  for  Baptism.  On 
Christmas  twenty  nine  pagans  were  re- 
generated of  'water  and  the  Holy  Spirit.' 
To  date  there  were  fifty  six  baptisms  in 
this  mission."  5 

"Considering  all  this,  I  firmly  believe 
that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  I  should 
establish  here  a  permanent  mission. 
Therefore,  I  commenced  soon  after  my 
arrival,  the  construction  of  a  small 
church,  a  dwelling  for  the  missionary  and 
a  school,  also  a  few  small  houses  for  the 
newly  converted,  for  as  long  as  these  In- 
dians live  scattered  in  the  woods,  they 
cannot  be  civilized,  nor  held  to  industry 
and  cleanliness.  For  this  reason  I  have 
adopted  a  plan  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  good  old  Jesuits  of  Paraguay,  to 
gather  them  into  a  village.  My  Indians 
are  much  pleased  with  this  arrangement 
and  all  have  promised  to  live  in  houses 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Whites."  6 

Baraga  actually  built,  first  fifteen 
houses,  and  then  seven  more  for  the  use 
of  the  Indians.  His  church  was  so  far 
completed,  during  the  winter  and  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  that  he  read  Mass  in  it  for 
the  first  time,  the  third  Sunday  after 
Pentecost,  June   16th,   1844. 

By  a  Brief  of  Pius  IX.  dated  Novem- 
ber 2$,  1843,  the  Northwest  was  estab- 
lished into  a  new  diocese  with  the  episco- 
pal See  at  Milwaukee  and  the  Rt.  Rever- 
end John  Martin  Henni,  made  its  first 
Bishop.  La  Pointe,  Baraga's  last  mission, 
was  within  the  precinct  of  the  new  dio- 
cese.    Since  there  was  no  priest  to  take 


5  Ibid. 
8  Ibidem. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


81 


his  place  he  had  retained  the  pastorate, 
visiting  it  from  time  to  time.  Of  the 
summer  1844  he  spent  the  month  of  Aug- 
ust at  La  Pointe,  during  which  time  they 
had  the  pleasure  of  the  first  visit  from 
the  new  Bishop,  who  on  this  occasion, 
August  14th,  confirmed  one  hundred 
twenty  two  persons. 

"When  he  saw  our  mission  church,  he 
said  that  it  was  much  nicer  than  his  Cath- 
edral. This  plainly  bespeaks  the  poverty 
of  the  new  diocese."  " 

Baraga  returned  Monday,  September 
2nd,  to  his  mission  at  L'Anse  to  continue' 
the  work  on  his  church,  which  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  29th  of  September,  to  the 
Holy  Name  of  Jesus.  In  the  Baptismal 
record  among  others,  he  recorded  the  fol- 
lowing: "The  16th  day  of  June,  of  the 
year  1844.  which  was  the  third  Sunday 
after  Pentecost,  holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  has  been  celebrated  for  the  first  time 
in  this  church.  As  soon,  however,  as  it 
had  been  becomingly  completed,  the 
undersigned  missionary  solemnly  dedi- 
cated it,  the  first  Sunday  of  October  of 
the  same  year,  to  Almighty  God  the 
Father,  under  the  Name  of  His  beloved 
Son  Jesus,  who  with  the  same  God.  the 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God  for- 
ever ;  at  the  same  time  he  prayed,  that  He 
may  graciously  deign  to  grant  that  who- 
soever shall  enter  this  church  asking 
benefices  of  Him  in  the  Name  of  Jesus, 
may  receive  what  he  earnestly  craves, 
that  he  may  know  how  sincerely  the 
Truth  has  spoken  saying:  If  you  shall 
ask  the  Father  anything  in  my  Name  it 
will  be  given  to  you."  8 

Not  wishing  to  lose  so  valuable  a  mis- 


7  Letter  August  27,   1844. 

8  Cf.  Assinins  Mission. 


A.  XVIII. 


sionary  as  Father  Pierz,  Bishop  Lefeverp 
had  ordered  him  to  return  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  diocese,  since  the 
Northwest  was  apportioned  into  the  Dio- 
cese of  Milwaukee.  In  obedience  he  quit 
Grand  Portage  and  returnee!  to  Arbre 
Croche.  Baraga's  heart  always  beat 
strongly  for  the  Red-skins  and,  as  long  as 
Bishop  Henni,  did  not  have  a  suitable 
priest  who  would  take  up  the  care  of  the 
missions  on  the  northern  shore  of  his 
diocese,  Baraga  was  willing,  with  con- 
sent of  his  own  Ordinary,  to  look  after 
the  welfare  of  the  missions  at  La  Pointe, 
Fond  du  Lac,  and  the  Grand  Portage — 
missions  established  by  himself  and  there- 
fore so  dear  to  his  heart.  During  the 
summer  of  1845  he  had  received  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  from  the  Leopol- 
dine  Society,  two  thousand  florins, — nine 
hundred  and  sixty  four  dollars  and  forty 
four  cents — for  his  own  mission  at 
L'Anse,  and,  in  his  unselfishness,  he  in- 
tended to  utilize  this  money  in  the  build- 
ing of  mission  churches  at  Grand  Portage 
and  at  Fond  du  Lac.  But  something  un- 
expected happened.  Father  Otto  Skolla, 
a  Franciscan  priest  and  a  Slovenian  by 
birth,  who  had  charge  of  the  Mackinac 
Island  and  St.  Ignace  missions,  was  per- 
mitted at  his  own  request,  to  leave  the 
Detroit  Diocese  in  order  to  take  up  mis- 
sionary work  at  La  Pointe.  Bishop 
Lefevere  granted  him  the  Exeat  at  the  ur- 
gent request  of  Baraga  himself.  "On  the 
9th  of  June  (1844)  I  received  a  letter 
from  Father  Baraga,"  writes  Skolla,  "to 
whom  the  Rt.  Reverend  Bishop  had  com- 
municated that  he  no  longer  entertained 
any  objection  to  my  dismissal  from  his 
diocese.  I  am  extremely  happy  and  con- 
tent that  I  have,  at  last,  reached  the  so 


82 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


much  desired  point  of  my  ambition.  On 
the  4th  of  October  of  last  year  I  arrived 
here  in  La  Pointe."  9  Thus  Baraga  was 
relieved  of  direct  pastoral  care  over  the 
Wisconsin  missions  though  he  still  re- 
tained, at  the  special  request  of  Bishop 
Henni,  jurisdiction  over  them.  It  is  like- 
ly that  Father  Baraga  visited  those  mis- 
sions in  the  fall  of  1845,  before  the  arri- 
val of  Father  Skolla  and  the  stirring  ex- 
perience   of    the    trip,    of    which    Father 


ing  to  Fond  du  Lac  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  building  of  a  new  church. 
But  then,  I  do  not  expect  to  go  there  any 
more,  because  I  have  received  help  in  the 
person  of  Father  Otto  Skolla,  who  is 
wintering  at  La  Pointe  where  I  had  been 
for  eight  years."  10 

In  July  (  1846),  Bishop  Lefevere  made 
his  first  canonical  visit  to  L'Anse.  The 
day  following  being  Sunday,  July  17th, 
he  confirmed  eighty  six  Indians,  and  dur- 


*tr&r?ta* 


<Am  4nJr*J  <*#>&'  sAcrti.-™,  C7r,^^Co  fifaz*^,*,^  **  /ci?/^,*^^^^ 
CTTvot  ere/Or,*^  •rtYv  jfarf&c  cv-&kAl™>  OM£?„.  *V<fT:   L%r?'Ser,'a  U&vnya,,  s&v/i-rir. 

&?„v  a**,  j**.  'jul  A--  ^%-  ***',  ^'r^ 

*.eCt  alb.  f/i,\,\.Cs<SiMM*/£^ 

FACSIMILE  OF   ATTEST  OF  FREDERIC  BARAGA'S  CONSECRATION   AT  CINCINNATI,   NOV.    I,    l8S3< 


/-•>&./«*>. 


Verwyst  gives  so  graphical  a  description, 
might  have  been  the  one.  But  Baraga 
again  undertook  a  journey  on  snow 
shoes,  in  February  1846,  to  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wisconsin.  He  writes :  "I  have  a 
farther  journey  to  make  this  winter, 
namely,  by  the  way  of  La  Pointe,  to  Fond 
du  Lac  and  back.  I  shall,  so  God  wills, 
leave  here  February  4th  and  hope  to  re- 
turn before  the  end  of  March.     I  am  go- 


ing a  week's  stay  baptized  the  last  of  the 
to  be  converted  Indians.11  On  the  return 
trip,  Father  Baraga  went  with  the  Bishop 
to  Detroit.  "I  am  here  in  Detroit,  almost 
two  months.  The  reason  is  the  follow- 
ing. Our  Indian  Mission  books,  which  I 
had  printed  in  1837  in  Paris,  are  about 
disposed  of;  necessity  compels  us  to  get 
out  another  edition,  for  our  numerous  In- 


•  Letter    Tulv  4th,   1836.     A.  XX. 


10  Letter   January  24,  1846. 

11  Cf.  Assinins  Mission. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


83 


dian  missions  cannot  be  properly  attended 
to  without  them ;  because  many  Indians 
can  read  and  very  much  love,  and  make 
good  use  of  this  devotional  book.  Mis- 
sionaries, who  work  in  Indian  missions, 
all  declare  that  the  Christian  Indians  can- 
not well  get  along  without  them,  and  that 
they  derive  great  benefit  from  them.  So 
says  especially  Father  Pierz,  who  assisted 
by  Father  Mrak  has  charge  of  the  most 
populous  and  best  Indian  mission  of  our 
diocese. 

"There  are  two  of  these  Indian  books. 
The  one  contains  all  prayers  necessary  for 
a  Catholic  Christian,  a  large  number  of 
hymns,  and  a  catechism,  a  total  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  six  pages;  the  other  an 
extract  from  the  bible  history  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Epistles  and 
Gospels,  so  that  it  can  be  used  at  the  same 
time  as  the  Gospel  book  by  the  mission- 
aries— two  hundred  and  sixty  eight  pages 
in  all.  I  have  caused  two  thousand  copies 
of  the  Prayer  book  and  one  thousand  two 
hundred  of  the  Gospel  book  to  be  printed. 
Besides,  I  had  four  hundred  extra  Cate- 
chisms printed  for  the  Indian  school  chil- 
dren. The  Prayerbook  I  have  considera- 
bly enlarged,  and  greatly  improved  for 
this  third  edition.  The  total  cost  of  print- 
ing is  five  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars, 
the  binding  will  be  one  hundred  and  sixty 
-four  dollars,  hence  six  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars  all  together."12 

Baraga  left  Detroit  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember. "I  long  to  be  again  among  my 
good  children.  Tomorrow  is  the  day  of 
my  departure  from  Detroit.  How  glad 
will  those  good  children  be  to  see  again 


their  Father,  whom  they  have  not  seen 
for  two  months." 

It  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of 
Baraga  how  Indians  were  driven  from 
their  domains  in  the  Lower  Peninsula, 
allured  by  the  intrigues  of  Indian  agents 
into  signing  of  contracts.  To  avoid  a 
possible  repetition  he  bought  a  tract  of 
land  which  he  divided  among  his  families. 

To  take  this  precaution  he  was  prompt- 
ed by  the  influx  of  the  white  population, 
attracted  thither  by  the  opening  of  the 
Copper  Mines.  Prospecting  had  begun  in 
Keewenaw  as  early  as  1843.  The  Fed- 
eral Government  had  opened  a  land  office 
at  Copper  Harbor,  and  land  was  to  be 
had  at  small  figures.  The  first  copper,  in 
quantities  of  importance,  was  taken  out 
in  1846.  This  brought  miners  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  and  a  permanent  set- 
tlement of  Whites.13  Roving  Indians 
brought  the  news  also  to  Father  Baraga 
who  concluded  to  investigate  the  matter. 
Accordingly  he  undertook  a  journey  to 
Keewenaw  Point.  He  writes:  "On  the 
nth  of  January  I  1847)  I  undertook  a 
trip  to  the  mines,  and  spent  there  three 
weeks.  I  was  dumbfounded  at  the  fast 
spreading  of  civilization  on  these  shores 
of  Lake  Superior.  I  found  in  many 
places  neat  houses  with  nice,  carpeted 
rooms.  In  one  house  there  was  even  a 
piano  on  which  a  young  American  wom- 
an played  very  skillfully. 

"I  have  met  about  250  Catholic  min- 
ers, though  there  are  many  more  there. 
I  had  taken  along  the  necessary  parapher- 
nalia for  the  celebration  of  Mass  and  for 
Baptism.  I  christened  a  multitude  of 
children,  and  heard  confessions  of  nearlv 


Letter    September  18,  1846.     A.  XX. 


Stevens'  Copper  book. 


84 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


all  the  Catholics,  most  of  whom  went  to 
holy  Communion.  Evenings,  after  the 
working  hours  of  the  miners,  I  went 
about  and  preached  here  in  English,  there 
in  German,  according  to  the  nationality 
of  my  hearers.  How  glad  were  the  Ger- 
mans to  listen  to  German  in  this  far-off 
country!  At  last  even  Lake  Superior  will 
be  inhabited  and  civilized !  From  year  to 
year  new  settlers  will  be  coming  hither, 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  B.   PURCELL. 

and   the)'   now    speak    of   a   town — only 
three  days'  journey  from  here."  14 

Baraga  read  Mass  for  the  first  time  in 
a  log  house,  two  miles  this  side  of  Eagle 
River,  belonging  to  the  Copper  Falls  Co. 
and  occupied  by  John  Kerry.  May  ioth. 
1847,  Baraga  paid  Keweenaw  a  second 
visit.  On  this  occasion  he  promised  the 
Catholic  people  to  come  to  them,  at  least 


14  Letter    June   10,  1847,  Annals  XXI.,  p.  59. 


three  times  a  year  until  they  could  get  a 
stationary  priest. 

Amidst  this  missionary  activity  Baraga 
still  found  time  for  literary  pursuits.  At 
the  request  of  Bishop  Lefevere,  he  com- 
menced composing  an  Indian  grammar 
which  might  aid  missionaries  in  acquir- 
ing that  otherwise  obstruse  language. 
Benjamin  Cloutier,  a  French  yenadizse 
had  found  his  way  to  L'Anse.  His  gram- 
matical knowledge  of  French  and  perfect 
knowledge  of  Otchipwe  assisted  Baraga 
greatly  in  the  construction  of  the  Indian 
declensions  and  conjugations,  as  well  as 
in  the  compiling  of  the  dictionary,  where- 
ever  his  own  personal  knowledge  was  in- 
adequate. All  these  notes  were  first  made 
in  French,  and  then  translated  into  Eng- 
glish : 

A    THEORETICAL    AXD    PRACTI- 
CAL GRAMMAR 

OF  THE  OTCHIPWE  LANGUAGE. 

Spoken  by  the  Chippewa  Indians;  Also 
by  the  Algonquin,  Ottawa  and  Pottawa- 
tomie Indians,  with  but  little  Differences, 
etc. 

By  Frederick  Baraga. 

Missionary    at    L'Anse,    Lake    Superior, 

Detroit. 

Jabez  Fox,  Printer. 

To  the  Leopoldine  Society  he  writes : 
"This  time  I  also  wish  to  state  that,  in 
accordance  with  the  wish  of  the  Right 
Reverend  Bishop  and  my  fellow  mission- 
aries, I  have  composed  a  complete  gram- 
mar of  the  Otchipwa  language,  which  is 
the  language  spoken  by  the  Indians  here. 
It  has  cost  me  a  great  deal  of  labor,  as  I 
had  to  break  my  way  every  where,  since 
no  grammar  of  this  kind  has  ever  been 
published.  However,  as  I  have  been 
studying  this   language  seventeen  years, 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


85 


I  have,  with  the  help  of  God  finished  the 
work. 

"I  am  also  compiling  c.  dictionary  of 
the  language,  Otchipwe-French  and 
French-Otchipwe.  I  have  already  col- 
lected several  thousand  words,  shall,  how- 
ever, continue  on  the  work  the  whole 
summer  and  fall,  and  a  part  of  next  win- 
ter, in  order  to  make  it  complete.  Xext 
spring  I  expect  to  have  both  works 
printed  in  Detroit,  and  thus  render  a  last- 
ing service  to  our  Indian  missions  which 
are  spread  over  three  dioceses.  With  the 
aid  of  a  complete  and  systematic  gram- 
mar, containing  rules,  illustrated  by  prac- 
tical examples,  our  missionaries,  who  are 
little,  or  not  at  all,  acquainted  with  this 
language,  or  even  future  missionaries, 
will  in  a  short  time  acquire  this  peculiar 
yet  beautiful  language.  It  is  of  vital  dif- 
ference whether  the  [Missionary  is  able 
to  speak  personally  with  the  Indian,  or 
whether  he  must  make  use  of  an  inter- 
preter." 15 

In  October  Baraga  undertook  another 
journey  to  Fond  du  Lac,  Minnesota.  He 
went  by  the  way  of  Copper  Harbour  and 
in  a  letter  written  at  the  latter  place,  la- 
ments the  scarcity  of  missionaries.  "How 
sad  it  is.  that  there  are  so  few  mission- 
aries on  this  Lake  Superior  where  so 
many  could  find  so  salutary  an  occupation, 
working  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  souls.  In  European  coun- 
tries priests  abound  and  some  could  be 
spared  without  inconveniencing  the  faith- 
ful. Whereas,  in  this  country,  a  mission- 
ary must  travel  hundreds  of  miles,  over 
stormy  seas,  and  snow  and  ice  fields  to 
bring  religious  consolation  to  only  a  few. 
When  will  the  time  come  when  heralds  of 


faith  will  find  their  way  also  to  these 
regions !  God  knows  how  ardently  I  de- 
sire it.  and  how  incessantly  I  beg  of  Him, 
in  the  sweet  Name  of  Jesus,  that  he  may 
in  his  mercy,  soon  send  laborers,  accord- 
ing to  His  heart,  into  this  vast  vine- 
yard."16 

"During  my  stay  in  Fond  du  Lac  many 
received  the  grace  of  holy  Baptism.  Es- 
pecially joyful  to  me  was  the  event  of  re- 
ceiving an  entire  pagan  family  into  the 
fold.  Also  the  Baptism  of  a  very  old, 
likely  ninety  years,  pagan  woman,  was 
consoling  to  me.  Upon  my  arrival  at 
Fond  du  Lac  I  heard  of  her  being  feeble 
ami  sick;  I  went  to  the  hovel  in  which  she 
lay  all  alone.  Her  relatives,  who  had  de- 
parted for  the  winter  into  the  far-off 
woods,  had  forsaken  her  and  she  was 
without  any  means,  until  a  Christian  fam- 
ily cared  for  her.  keeping  fire  day  and 
night  in  her  hut  and  bringing  her  food. 
Among  these  blinded  heathens  such  in- 
stances happen  not  infrequently.  When 
their  parents  or  grandparents  become  so 
enfeebled  by  age,  that  they  are  no  longer 
able  to  roam  in  the  forest,  they  are  simply 
abandoned.  If  it  happens  in  the  village, 
some  one  is  always  found,  usually  a 
Christian  family,  who  takes  care  of  them 
till  their  demise.  However  this  often 
happens  amidst  lone  wilderness,  where 
they  neccessarily  perish  of  hunger  and 
cold.  O  baneful  heathenism !  Thus  was 
also  the  old  woman  forsaken,  but  immedi- 
ately succored  by  a  Christian  family. 
They  told  me  that  she  had  been  sick  for  a 
long  time,  yet  not  unto  death.  Accom- 
panied by  a  Christian  squaw,  I  crept  inti  i 
the    miserable    hovel    greeting    her ;    my 


"Letter  June  19.  1S47. 


18  Letter    October   18,   1847.     A.  XXI. 


86 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


companion  at  once  explained  that  the 
missionary  had  come  to  visit  her.  She 
could  not  see  me  as  she  was  totally  blind, 
but  stretched  out  her  worn  hands  toward 
me  crying  out :  Nosse,  nosse,  jaweni- 
michim!  Father,  Father,  have  mercy  on 
me !  Having  expressed  my  compassion 
on  account  of  her  sad  condition,  I  assured 
her  that  because  she  had  endured  so  much 
misery  in  this  world,  she  would  be  so 
much  the  happier  in  the  next,  if  she  only 
would  receive  the  word  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  in  whose  name  I  came  to  announce 
it  to  her,  if  she  would  believe  and  be  bap- 
tized. I  spoke  and  explained  to  her  the 
most  necessary  truths  of  our  holy  religion 
and,,  from  time  to  time,  asked  her  if  she 
understood  and  believed.  The  sincere 
tone  of  her  answers  convinced  me  of  her 
disposition,  and  I  decided  to  baptize  her 
at  once.  Still  I  thought  it  might  be  bet- 
ter, if  I  came  in  again  the  next  day  to  in- 
struct her  still  more  before  giving  her 
Baptism,  for  she  may  not  die  yet.  How- 
ever, without  knowing  why,  I  determined 
upon  my  first  intention  and  I  baptized 
her  before  I  left  the  hut.  It  was  late  by 
the  time  I  returned  to  my  lodge,  but  I  felt 
a  peaceful  satisfaction  in  having  baptized 
the  poor  old  woman.  Early  next  morn- 
ing the  head  of  the  Christian  family,  who 
had  taken  care  of  her,  announced  to  me 
that  she  had  peacefully  fallen  asleep  in  the 
Lord.  Only  a  Christian  heart  can  com- 
prehend the  happiness  which  filled  my 
soul!  How  thankful  I  am  to  God  that  I 
did  not  defer  that  Baptism  until  the  next 
day!  It  was  a  providential  disposition  of 
the  eternal  Love,  whose  weak  instrument 
I  am,  that  this  so  poor,  forsaken  soul 
should  immediately  enter  the  joys  of  the 
Lord.     "Pared  paupcri  ct  inopi  et  anunas 


pauperum  salvas  faciei.  He  shall  spare 
the  poor  and  needy,  and  He  shall  save  the 
souls  of  the  poor.  (Ps.  71,  13.) 

"I  had  still  another  spiritual  joy.  Dur- 
ing my  stay  at  Fond  du  Lac,  I  gave  first 
holy  Communion  to  thirteen  persons  with 
as  much  solemnity  as  place  and  circum- 
stances would  allow. 

"Having  thus  consoled,  instructed  and 
confirmed  the  poor  Indians  of  Fond  du 
Lac  in  the  faith,  I  started  on  my  return 
trip  to  L'Anse,  in  order  not  to  be  absent 
too  long  from  my  own  mission.  The  re- 
turn trip  was  full  of  hardships,  especially 
between  Fond  du  Lac  and  La  Pointe.  I 
have  undertaken  many  a  mission  trip, 
but  this  one  was  the  most  difficult  of  all. 
Two  years  ago  I  made  this  same  distance 
in  four  days,  this  time  it  took  seven.  The 
reason  was,  my  companion  and  guide  be- 
came suddenly  dangerously  sick  in  a 
lonesome  and  desolate  wilderness.  The 
illness  overtook  him  in  the  evening,  and 
he  could  not  close  his  eyes  that  night :  he 
told  me  that  he  could  not  walk  another 
mile.  It  was  a  sad  night  indeed!  We 
were  far  from  any  human  habitation,  and 
could  not  remain  in  the  place  any  length 
of  time,  as  our  stock  of  provisions  was 
low,  and  we  were  in  the  midst  of  primeval 
forests  without  a  trail.  The  snow  was 
very  deep  and  the  temperature  bitterly 
cold.  I  though  many  a  time,  that  night, 
as  I  watched,  that  it  would  be  the  end  of 
my  earthly  career,  if  my  guide  should 
happen  to  die.  Still,  it  was  not  to  be  the 
will  of  the  Good  Shepherd  who  in  his 
infinite  mercy,  should  further  make  use  of 
this  weak  instrument  to  bring  erring 
sheep  into  his  fold !  The  condition  of  my 
guide  became  so  much  better  by  the  fol- 
lowing morning;,  that  he  could,  with  ex- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  A.XD  MARQUETTE 


87 


ertion,  slowly  move  along.  But  he  could 
not  carry  any  of  our  baggage.  Hence.  I 
was  forced  to  shoulder  it  myself  and 
carry  it  that  whole  day,  and  many  days 
after  that,  wading  through  the  deep  snow 
over  hill  and  plain.  I  had  never  done  it 
before  but,  at  the  same  time,  was  content 
as  long  as  my  guide  was  able  to  move 
along.  Most  bother  I  experienced  in  the 
evenings,  when  we  stopped  for  the  night : 
something  I  likewise  never  have  done  be- 


cannot  say  it  during  the  day,  being  anx- 
ious to  make  headway.  It  can,  there- 
fore, be  said  only  before  dawn,  or  late  in 
the  evening  by  the  glimmer  of  the  camp 
fire.  The  eyes  necessarily  suffer  by  such 
operation.  However,  the  gratitude  to- 
ward God,  who  employes  such  feeble  in- 
struments for  the  saving  of  immortal 
souls,  sweetens  and  makes  the  obligation 
hallowed. 

"Upon    my    return    to    the    mission    I 


RT.   REV.    JOHN*    MARTIN*    HENNI,   ARCHE1SH0I"   OF    MILWAUKEE. 


fore,  I  had  to  chop  wood  and  keep  up  the 
fire  through  the  night,  that  my  guide 
might  not  freeze  or  take  a  worse  cold. 
In  my  sad  plight  the  thought  of  the  graces 
conferred  by  the  baptisms  at  Fond  du 
Lac  gave  me  infinite  consolation. 

"From  La  Pointe  my  journey  was  not 
as  difficult,  though  I  still  had  to  carry  my 
own  baggage.  On  such  journeys  the 
Breviary   forms  a   special  burden.     One 


found  everything  in  the  best  of  order; 
notwithstanding  that  I  had  been  absent 
three  months.  During  that  time  my  In- 
dians had  assembled  in  the  church  in  thr: 
fore-  and  afternoon,-  Sunday  upon  Sun- 
day, performing  their  devotion  in  com- 
mon as  they  were  ordered  to  do. 

"Now,  I  am  again  content  and  grateful, 
loving  and   beloved,  as  a  father  among 


88 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


his  children,  for  which  I  thank  God  in  the 
Name  of  Jesus."  1T 

Baraga's  indefatigable  zeal  would  not 
permit  of  a  long  recuperation  after  the 
arduous  journey  he  had  just  made. 
Priests  were  scarce,  the  territory  large, 
and  the  people  anxious  to  attend  divine 
services  (at  least  from  time  to  time). 
During  five  months  the  Whites  of  Kee- 
wenaw  had  not  seen  a  priest.  Father 
Baraga  hastened  to  them  in  January 
(1848)  and  spent  three  weeks  amongst 
them.  "I  am  wont  to  visit  them  at  least 
twice  a  year,  in  order  to  give  them  op- 
portunity to  receive  the  holy  sacraments 
and  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  The  fore- 
men at  the  mines  are  mostly  Americans 
and  belong  to  no  particular  religion,  but 
the  great  majority  of  the  miners  are 
Catholics  and  exceedingly  happy  to  see 
the  priest  once  in  a  while.  They  desire 
to  have  a  stationary  pastor,  whom  they 
would  willingly  support.  They  have  also 
requested  me  to  ask  the  Bishop  to  send 
them  a  priest.  I  have  done  so,  but  the 
Bishop  could  not  meet  their  wishes,  at  the 
best  of  his  will,  because  there  is  a  great 
scarcity  of  priests  in  the  diocese."  1S 

The  New  York  Observer,  a  non-Catho- 
lic publication,  commenting  upon  the  ac- 
tivity of  Baraga  and  his  seemingly  ub- 
iquitous presence,  has  the  following :  "To 
the  most  common  observer  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  assign  the  reasons  why  Catholics 
have  such  good  success  (in  Indian  Mis- 
sions). The  number  of  Catholic  Whites 
married  to  Indian  women  is  greater  than 
that  of  Protestants.  Through  this  kind 
of  influence  the  confidence  of  the  Indians 
is  more  easily  gained  than  through  any 


other.  The  children  of  such  marriages 
are  a  sure  gain.  The  way  to  gain  a  ready 
hearing  on  the  part  of  the  relatives  is 
thus  also  facilitated. 

"Another  reason  is,  that  it  is  more 
apparent  in  a  Catholic  missionary  that  he 
devotes  himself  wholly  and  entirely  to 
the  cause  which  he  promotes,  since  he 
labors  continually  for  others,  fearlessly 
exposes  his  health  to  danger  in  the  service 
of  the  sick  and  dying,  and  is  more  will- 
ing than  the  Protestant  preacher  to  suffer 
privations  at  all  times. 

"An  example  of  this  kind  is  told  of 
Father  Baraga,  at  Keewenaw  Point,  a 
man  almost  sixty19  years  old,  who  de- 
votes the  whole  of  his  income  2"  as  well 
as  his  personal  services  to  the  cause,  he 
has  taken  upon  himself  and  receives  no 
compensation  for  the  same.  Last  winter 
he  walked  on  snow  shoes  from  L'Anse 
to  Copper  Harbor,  a  distance  of  fifty- ' 
seven  miles,21  through  uninhabited  re- 
gions, solely  to  baptize  one  child,  of  whom 
he  had  heard  that  it  might  probably  die. 
Such  proofs  of  selfsacrifice  are  not  with- 
out influence  upon  the  observant  mind  of 
the  Indian. 

"The  Catholic  missionary,  no  matter 
where  he  mav  be,  is  everywhere  at  home. 
If  he  is  overtaken  by  the  night  in  an  In- 


17  Letter  January  12,   1848.     A.  XXII. 
"Letter,  March"  16,  1848.     A.  XXII. 


"  Baraga  makes  these  annotations :  I  am 
now  fifty,  but  almost  eighteen  years  of  my  mis- 
sionary service  and  especially  my  difficult  winter 
trips  have  used  me  up  considerably,  so  that  many 
people,  who  saw  me  for  the  first  time,  took  me 
for  a  man  of  sixty.  O.  A.  M.  D.  G—  all  for  the 
greater  honor  of  God. 

20  The  kind  donations  which  the  Leopoldine 
Society  sends  me   from  time  to  time. 

=1  I  also  had  other  missionary  duties  to  per- 
form. It  is,  however,  certain  that,  I.  and  every 
other  Catholic  missionary  would  willingly  travel, 
not  only  fifty-seven,  but  five  hundred  and  sev- 
enty miles,  solely  to  procure  eternal  happiness, 
through  holy  Baptism,  for  one  single  immortal 
soul,  so  infinitely  precious.  Leop.  Birichte,  XXII., 
P.  85. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


89 


dian  hut,  and  does  not  come  home,  neither 
his  wife  nor  children  are  distressed  on 
account  of  it.  He  gratefully  partakes 
of  their  own  meals  and  looks  for  nothing 
better.  He  lies  down  on  a  mat  for  a 
rest  and  thanks  his  Savior  that  he  is  so 
well  provided  for.  He  does  not  waste  a 
good  half  of  his  precious  time  in  enjoying 
the  pleasure  of  life,  nor  in  the  fulfillment 
of  home  obligations,  or  the  care  of  an 
ever  increasing  family,  but  through  his 
simple  and  self-sacrificing  mode  of  life 
he  gains  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  sav- 
ages, and  then  their  obedience  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
is  easily  gained.  Doctrines  taught  by 
visible  signs  are  easier  understood  by 
simple  people  than  moral  expressions,  no 
matter  in  what  form  the.  words  may  be 
clothed. 

In  August,  1849,  Baraga  went  to  De- 
troit to  superintend  the  fourth  edition  of 
his  Indian  prayerbook,  of  which,  this  time 
three  thousand  five  hundred  copies  were 
printed.  The  six  hundred  dollars  re- 
quired for  this  purpose  he  had  received 
from  the  Leopoldine  Society.  Return- 
ing home  to  his  mission  he  almost  met 
with  a  catastrophe.  "On  the  25th  of 
September  I  left  Detroit  to  return  to  my 
mission.  We  were  scarcely  two  days  on 
Lake  Huron  when  a  severe  storm  arose 
and  almost  swamped  our  boat.  The  crew 
assured  us  that  the}'  had  never  seen  such 
a  storm  on  this  lake.  Almost  half  of  the 
cargo  was  thrown  over  board  to  save  us. 
Twenty  barrels  of  pork  were  reserved 
and  used  for  fuel  in  order  to  make  the 
steamer  go  faster  towards  the  nearest 
landing.  In  the  harbor  they  found  that 
the  boiler  had  sustained  a  large  hole. 
"No  thought  of  proceeding  any  further 


in  that  condition  could  be  entertained.  I 
went  aboard  a  passing  steamer  and  re- 
turned to  Detroit.  In  a  couple  of  days 
I  expect  to  leave  here  again,  and,  with 
the  help  of  God,  reach  my  mission  in 
safety.  -- 

How  often  the  good  missionary  was  in 
deathly  peril,  only  God  knows.  Baraga 
recorded  little;  he  has  left  us  a  description 
in  a  letter  of  August  25,  1849,  OI  two 
of  them.  He  writes:  "Last  February 
I  undertook  a  missionary  trip  during 
which,  though  I  found  opportunity  to  do 
much  good,  administering  several  bap- 
tisms, I  almost  lost  my  life.  Because  I 
knew  the  way,  I  went  alone  carry ing  the 


SIGNATURE  OF  MOST  REV.   MARTIN   HENNI,  ARCH- 
BISHOP  OF    MILWAUKEE. 

pack  of  my  Mass-paraphernalia  on  my 
back.  At  first  all  went  well.  The  way 
was  trailed  and  my  snow  shoes  light.  I 
visited  several  small  localities,  where  I 
preached  and  baptized.  One  day,  how- 
ever, when  I  had  to  walk  only  ten  miles 
to  reach  another  locality,  the  snow,  which 
the  night  before  had  fallen  heavily,  had 
covered  the  trail  and  made  it,  in  many 
places,  invisible.  It  was  evident  that  I 
would  have  difficulties,  but  I  would  not 
return,  because  I  was  anxi<  ius  to  reach  the 
next  settlement,  situated  high  on  the 
mountain.  I  found  the  snow  to  be  deeper 
and  deeper  and  because  fresh  it  was  so 
soft  that  at  every  step  I  sank  into  it,  and  it 
cost  me  great  effort  to  move  along,  for 
nothing  is  more  fatiguing  than  wading 
through  a  deep,  freshly  fallen  snow.     I 

"-  Letter    September  30,   1849.     A.  XXII. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


had  thus  tugged  along  for  three  hours, 
when  my  strength  commenced  to  fail  me. 
But  the  courage  and  the  confidence  in  the 
Good  Shepherd  after  whose  lost  sheep  I 
was  going,  did  not  leave  me.     I  rested  a 
while   and   then    walked   again   a   while. 
However,  I  became  so  weak  that  I  could 
not  carry  my  pack  any  longer,  so  I  hung 
it  on  a  tree  and  walked  on,  though  slower 
and  slower,  for  I  could  hardly  lift  my  feet 
through  the  snow,  especially  walking  up 
hill.      Time   and    again    I    thought    that, 
through  weakness.  I  would  collapse  and 
not  be  able  to  rise  again.     In  that  case  I 
could  not  have  lived  long,  it  being  bitterly 
cold.    I  was  too  weak  to  gather  wood  and 
would  surely  have  frozen  to  death.    With 
the  last  efforts  I  dragged  myself  along 
resting  every  now  and  then.     Arrived,  at 
last,  at  the  place  from  where  it  should 
have  taken  me  three  quarters  of  an  hour, 
I  used   three   hours  to  make  that   short 
distance.     When  I  started  in  the  morning 
I   expected  to  reach  the  place  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  instead  I  arrived 
there  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     The 
good  people  pitied  me   with   amazement 
when  they  saw  how  tired  out  1  was.    The 
fi  illowing  morning  they  sent  a  young  man 
after  my  baggage,  which   1   had  left  be- 
hind.    Truly,  only  with  difficulty  I  came 
to  the  village,  but  thanks  be  to  God.  I  was 
richly  repaid  for  it,  by  the  good  use  the 
people  made  of  my  visit. 

"The  second  time  I  was  in  great  peril 
returning  home  from  this  same  journey. 
I  was  all  alone,  and  had  to  walk  thirty 
miles  to  reach  the  first  house.  Rather  than 
spend  the  night  in  the  snow  beneath  the 
bare  heavens.  I  wanted  to  make  the  dis- 
tance in  one  day.  This  trip  proved  ex- 
tremely difficult..    I  started  out  early  in 


the  morning  by  moon  light.     At  first  all 
went  well  as  I  walked  through  the  woods 
where  the  wind  was  well  checked.     But 
when  I  came  out  of  the  woods  my  way 
leading  over  frozen  lakes,  the  wind  which 
blew  straight  into  my  face,  developed  into 
a  perfect  storm.     It  blew  so  hard  that  it 
almost  threw  me  to  the  ground  and  froze 
the  blood  in  my  veins.     I  could  walk  but 
slowly,  ami  such  a  distance  before  me! 
To  add  to  my  discomfort  I  lost  my  way, 
as  the  trail  was  entirely  covered  up  with 
snow.      I   walked   straight   ahead.      Even 
this  was  difficult,  I  could  not  see  ten  paces 
ahead  of  me.     The  storm  drove  the  snow 
into  my  eyes,  and  thick  fog  was  on  all 
sides.     Through  this  storm  I  fought  my 
way  seventeen  miles.     I  kept  snow  shoes 
on   my    feet    six    hours   uninterruptedly. 
Had  a  weakness  befallen  me,  so  that   I 
had  to  remain  quietly  in  one  place  only  for 
a  half  hour,  I  would  have  frozen  to  death 
in  consequence  of  the  piercing  cold  wind. 
The    same    day,    some    Canadians,    who 
went  out,  had  their  noses  and  ears  frozen. 
Except  that  the  skin  of  my  face,   lateV. 
pealed  off,  nothing  worse,  thanks  to  God, 
happened  to  me."  2:i 

In  the  spring  of  1850  Bishop  Lefevere 
again  visited  the  L'Anse  mission. 24 
Baraga  went  with  him  to  Detroit,  this 
time  to  supervise  the  edition  of  his  Gram- 
mar and  Dictionary.  He  remained  there 
until  the  3rd  of  September  (  1850),  over 
ten  weeks  in  all.  It  was  a  long  time  to  be 
absent  fom  the  mission,  but  necessary, 
and  after  all.  beneficial  to  all  Indian  mis- 
sions. Besides  Baraga  received  com- 
munication from  his  flock  at  L'Anse  that 


-'' Leop.  Berichte.  XXIX'. 

-'  Letter   of   Bishop   Lefevere,   June    1850.     A. 
XXIII. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


91 


they  gathered  in  the  church  twice  on  Sun- 
days, reciting  their  prayers  and  singing 
hymns,  the  same  as  if  he  were  with  them. 
Before  leaving  Detroit,  Baraga  wrote  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Vienna:  "I  had  two 
works  printed  here,  of  winch  I  had  made 
mention  in  my  last  letter.  Now  they  are 
finished.  The  one  is  a  complete  theoreti- 
cal— practical  grammer  of  the  Indian 
language,  and  the  other  a  meditation  and 
instruction  book  on  all  the  truths  of  our 
holy  religion.  L'r'  I  take  the  liberty  of 
sending  to  you  Princely  Grace  two  copies 
of  the  Grammar  and  one  of  the  works  in 
Indian.  The  latter  in  made  in  pocket  size 
because  the  Indians  are  wont  to  carry 
their  books  wheresoever  they  go. 

"The  day  after  tomorrow,  I  shall  leave 
here  for  home  and  take  along  an  ex- 
emplary priest.  The  Rt.  Reverend  Bishop 
sends  him  with  me  that  he  may  learn  the 
Indian  language,  and  afterwards  work 
in  the  missions.  This  is  the  very  good, 
ancient  plan  of  the  Jesuits.  It  is  more 
profitable  that. the  missionary,  before  he 
enters  upon  the  missions,  learn  the  In- 
dian language,  for  it  is  disagreeable  and 
hard,  if  the  missionary  has  to  make  use 
of  an  interpreter.  It  had  to  be  so,  in  the 
beginning,  but  now,  since  we  have  a  gram- 
mar and  Indian  books,  it  will  be  much 
easier  to  learn  the  language.  I  am  glad 
that  this  priest  goes  with  me ;  he  is  a  holy 
man  and  earnestly  desires  to  spend  his 
whole  life  in  Indian  missions.  By  birth 
he  is  a  Belgian  and  his  name  is  Angelus 
Van  Paemel." 

Having  received  an  assistant,  in  the 
person  of  Father  Van  Paemel,  Baraga  de- 
voted more  of  his  time  to  other  missions, 
particularly  to  those  in  Keewenaw,  where 


the  white  population  had  made  itself  felt 
in  its  civilizing  effects.  "The  population  of 
Lake  Superior  is  increasing  rapidly.  The 
copper  mines,  discovered  here,  have  at- 
tracted many  people  of  whom  a  great 
number  are  Catholics.  They  are  Ger- 
mans. Irish,  and  French.  The  latter  two 
are  all  Catholics;  of  the  Germans  more 
than  one  half  belong  to  our  religion.  I 
am  obliged  to  visit  them  often  in  order 
to  say  Mass  and  preach,  hear  confession 
and  give  holy  Communion.  I  go  from 
one  mine  to  the  other  and  remain  there 
one  or  two  days,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  location  and  the  number  of  Catholic 
people.  I  find  it  rather  a  difficult  task  be- 
cause I  am  obliged  to  go  afoot  and  carry 
my  pack  of  necessary  requisites  for  the 
celebration  of  holy  Mass. 2G 

In  January  (1851)  Baraga  met  with 
an  experience  similar  to  the  one  narrated 
above.  We  let  him  relate  his  own  story : 
"It  was  towards  the  end  of  January,  thei 
coldest  days  and  nights  of  this  winter. 
I  was  returning  from  a  mission  in  the 
mines.  Over  night  I  stayed  in  a  house 
from  which  I  had  to  walk  over  thirty 
miles  before  I  struck  another.  Generallv 
I  walked  that  distance  in  ten  or  twelve 
hours ;  this  time  it  turned  out  to  be  other- 
wise. The  snow  was  deep  but  a  new  fall, 
the  night  and  day  previous,  made  it  still 
deeper.  Through  this  deep  snow  I  had 
to  go  thirty  miles!  Only  by  a  special 
favor  of  Divine  Providence  I  was  pre- 
served alive.  I  left  the  house,  where  I 
spent  the  night,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  commenced  wading  through 
the  snow.  My  legs  soon  grew  tired,  but 
I  continued  the  journey  all  day,  although 
very  slowly.     Towards  five  o'clock,  the 


'  Managatawendamomasinaigan. 


1  Letter   April  2,  1851.    A.  XXIV. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


hour  at  which  I  used  to  reach  the  next 
house,  I  had  just  completed  half  of  my 
journey.     A  terrifying  thought !     Fifteen 
miles  from  any  house — in  the  deep  snow 
— an  intensely  cold  night,  no  fire,  corn- 


had  protected  me,  and  walked  on, 
throughout  the  whole  night.  At  seven 
o'clock  next  morning  I  arrived,  deadly 
tired,  at  the  house,  to  the  amazement  of 
the  people  who  were  living  there.     I  had 


CATHEDRAL  OF   ST.   PCTER, 


CINCINNATI. 


Jruwyi  CxArKoilc  jvJi 


mdmzdbM^ 


CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.   rETER,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO.   WHERE  TWO  OF 
OUR  BISHOPS,  BARAGA  AND   MKAK.  WERE  CONSECRATED. 

pletely   exhausted!     What   could   I   do?  walked  twenty  hours  without  intermission 

There  was  no  other  choice  but  to  walk  on  snow  shoes  through  the  deep  snow  with 

on  or  to  freeze.    I  recommended  myself  to  nothing  to  eat  but  a  small  piece  of  cake, 

the  Providence  of  God,   which  so  often  When  I  had  reached  the  house  I  could  not 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


93 


thank  God  enough.  Many  a  time  during 
the  night,  which  was  hitter  cold,  I 
thought  I  would  sink  down  and  freeze 
before  I  could  get  to  the  house.  And 
it  was  only  through  the  protection  of  my 
loving,  heavenly  Father,  that  I  could  hold 
out  in  such  great  hardships.  My  trust 
in  the  help  of  God  under  all  circumstances 
of  my  life  was  great  even  before  that, 
but  this  occurrence  has  heightened  it  a 
great  deal  more."  -7 

During  the  Provincial  Council  held  in 
Baltimore  in  May,  1849,  it  was  decided  by 
the  Bishops,  to  ask  the  Holy  Father  for 
permission  to  convoke  a  National  Council 
in  the  following  year,  1850.  Pius  IX.  ac- 
ceded to  their  wishes  hut  ordered  it  to 
convene  first  in  1852.  The  Kt.  Reverend 
Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  was  appointed  by  the  Holy 
See  as  Delegate  to  preside  at  the  council. 
On  the  9th  of  May  the  Cathedral  of  Balti- 
more was  a  scene  never  before  witnessed 
in  America.  Six  Archbishops,  twenty- 
seven  Bishops,  twelve  Superiors  of  Re- 
ligious Orders,  forty-two  Theologians, 
and  about  one  hundred  priests,  had  come 
to  the  city  to  take  part  in  the  council 
which  opened  on  that  memorable  Sunday, 
under  so  auspicious  circumstances.  It 
remained  in  session  nine  days.  This  coun- 
cil was  also  of  importance  for  the  Diocese 
of  Marquette.  Among  the  resolutions 
laid  before  the  Holy  Father  for  approba- 
tion, the  establishment  of  eleven  new 
Bishoprics  and  two  Apostolic  Vicariates 
were  warmly  recommended.  One  of  these 
two  w-as  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Upper 
Michigan. 

Who  will  be  the  first  Bishop?  No 
secrecy  was  maintained  as  to  the  names 


of  the  new  Sees,  and  perhaps  just  as  little, 
as  to  the  priests  who  were  recommended 
to  fill  the  new  Bishoprics.  Baraga  re- 
ceived the  first  news  of  his  probable  ap- 
pointment from  Bishop  Henni,  June  27, 
1852.  In  a  letter  dated  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  June  7,  1852,  he  says:  "Pro- 
vidence seems  to  have  called  you  unto  the 
chief-pastorship  on  Lake  Superior.  Then 
you  will  also  look  after  my,  only  too  much 
neglected,  sheep  there."  Again  July  29, 
he  writes:  "It  depends  now  only  on  the 
Holy  Father  whether  or  not  he  will  make 
Upper  Michigan  a  Vicariate  Apostolic.  I 
think  you  may  as  well  count  for  certain, 
to  be  obliged  to  accept  the  burden  upon 
your  shoulders."  A  second  intimation 
came  to  Baraga  through  the  Kirchenzei- 
tung  of  Cincinnati,  June  10.  1852: 
"About  the  election  of  new  Bishops  noth- 
ing positve  can  be  said,  yet,  it  is  certain 
that  the  Reverend  Dr.  Baraga,  of  L'Anse 
Michigan,  the  so  well  deserving  Indian 
missionary,  has  been  chosen  as  Bishop  of 
Santa  Maria."  A  third,  though  indirect 
information,  Baraga  received  upon  his  re- 
turn from  a  mission  trip,  from  Pierre  Cre- 
bassa,  "that  Upper  Michigan  will  get'  a 
Bishop."  2S 

These  rumors  did  not  disturb  Baraga. 
He  answered  to  them  in  the  language  of 
the  Scripture :  "Fiat  voluntas  Dei.  Non 
nobis.  Domine,  non  nobis,  sed  Nomini 
Tuo  da  gloriam."  Let  the  will  of  God  be 
done.  Not  to  us,  O  Lord,  not  to  us,  but 
to  Thy  Name,  give  glory.  29 

During  the  summer  of  1852,  when  at 
home,  he  worked  unremittingly  on  his 
Indian  Dictionary.  All  his  spare  time  he 
used  making  a  clean  copy  for  the  printer. 


Ibidem. 


Baraga's  Tagebuch. 
Diary. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


He  completed  this  tedious  work  with  the 
incoming  New  Year.  From  September 
7th  to  the  22nd  he  visited  the  Ontonagon 
mining  region.  The  first  night,  on  his 
way  out,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  losing 
himself  in  the  woods.  "September  8th  I 
got  lust  in  the  woods  and  had  to  sleep  out- 
doors without  cover  or  fire.  It  was  my 
own  fault.  I  know  that  I  cannot  go 
straightways  through  the  woods.  I  should 
always  follow  the  beaten  path!""1'  In 
October  (6th  to  22nd)  he  was  actively 
engaged  around  the  Keewenaw  mines. 

On  January  4th.  1853,  the  last  dot 
had  been  made  to  the  Otchipewa  Diction- 
ary. Baraga  was  extremely  happy  to 
have,  at  last,  completed  the  tedious  work 
of  transcribing  into  legible  writing,  the 
great  compilation  of  words  which  would 
demand  all  the  attention  of  a  type-setter. 
were  they  English,  and  so  much  more, 
being  of  a  language,  which  most  likely, 
not  a  single  printer,  in  the  wide  universe 
understood.  Word  for  word  had  to  be 
spelled  out  and  to  insure  a  correct  re- 
production of  the  manuscript,  the  proof 
sheets  had  to  be  corrected  with  utmost 
care.  Who  could  do  this  work  better 
than  himself?  Baraga  therefore  resolved 
to  go  to  Detroit  and  to  superintend,  as 
on  former  occasions,  the  printing  of  his 
Indian  book.  He  visited  once  more  his 
white  missions,  in  Ontonogan — from 
lanuary  7th  to  26th — and  in  Keewenaw 
— from  January  28th  to  February  [6th. 
On    March    2nd   he    departed,    on    snow 


shoes,  from  L'Anse  by  the  way  of  Bay  des 
Noques,  for  Green  Bay.  It  took  him  four 
days  to  Bay  des  Xoques  and  three  more, 
with  a  pair  of  Indian  ponies,  driving  on 
the  ice.  to  Green  Bay.  On  this  perilous 
journey  he  almost  lost  his  manuscript  and 
his  life.  "On  the  9th  of  March  I  broke 
through  the  ice  nine  miles  this  side  of 
Green  Bay.  The  Lord  has  again  merci- 
fully saved  me.  as  on  many  former  oc- 
casions." 31 

He  arrived  in  Detroit,  after  spending 
some  days  in  Milwaukee  as  guest  of 
Bishop  Henni.  March  17th.  He  found 
the  presses  inadequate  for  the  printing  of 
his  Dictionary  and  intended  at  first  to  go 
to  New  York.  During  the  Easter  holi- 
days, which  he  spent  in  Detroit,  after 
much  deliberation,  he  concluded  to  go  to 
Cincinnati.  He  took  passage  Easter  Mon- 
day, March  28th,  on  the  Steamer  'Bay 
City,'  arriving  in  Cincinnati  the  following 
day.  Reverend  Clemens  Hammer  re- 
ceived him  most  cordially  into  his  house. 

From  this  day.  till  the  9th  of  July  the 
only  and  daily  occupation  of  Baraga  was 
the  correcting  of  proof-sheets.  The  heat 
tormented  him  much,  and  on  account  of 
it,  was  happy  again  to  leave  the  city.  By 
the  way  of  Detroit,  he  arrived  in  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  on  the  4th  of  August.  From 
there  he  took  a  boat  to  Eagle  Harbor. 
Spending  two  days  in  his  mission,  he 
walked  to  L'Anse,  where  he  rested  only 
two  davs. 


~"  Diary. 


:;'  Diarv. 


ChapterlV. 

I  'pper  Michigan  is  made  a  Vicariate  Apostolic— Baraga  is  created  its  first  Vicar  Apostolic.^ 

Is  consecrated  bishop  in  Cincinnati.— Visits  his  native  country  in  search  of  priests  and 

means. — Returns  to  his  Vicariate  and  takes  up  his  residence  at  Sault  Ste. 

Marie.  -The  first  ordination  in  the  Diocese.— His  extraordinary 

activity. — The  Vicariate  Apostolic  is  orated  into  the 

diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 


A  whole  year  had  elapsed  since  the 
first  rumor  had  reached  Baraga  that  he 
would  be  appointed  Bishop.  While  in 
Cincinnati  Father  Kundeg,  arriving  from 
Rome,  brought  positive  assurance,  based 
on  the  word  of  Cardinal  Franzoni,  that 
in  consequence  of  the  recommendation  of 
the  First  Plenary  Council  and  of  the 
personal  explanation  of  urgent  necessity, 
by  the  Rt.  Reverend  Jacob  Yandevelde, 
Bishop  of  Chicago,  who  presented  the 
Decrees  to  the  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX. 
among  other  Dioceses,  established,  by  a 
Brief  of  July  29th,  1853,  a  Vicariate 
Apostolic  for  Upper  Michigan  and  a  simi- 
lar one  for  St.  Augustine,  Florida. 

This  assurance,  coming  from  so  a  re- 
liable a  source,  prompted  Baraga  to  visit 
his  missions  in  Ontonagon  and  Keewenaw 
mining  regions,  from  August  12th  to 
September  26th,  to  acquire  suitable  prop- 
erty for  churches  and  other  necessary 
buildings.  On  this  extensive  trip  he  bap- 
tized fifty  six  children,  white  and  Indian. 
Returning  home  he  resolved  to  go  to 
Europe.  While  on  his  way,  in  Detroit, 
Bishop  Lefevere,  October  13th,  communi- 


cated to  him  that  he  would  be  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Amyzonia,  and  Vicar  Apostolic 
for  Upper  Michigan,  in  Cincinnati,  on  All 
Saints  Day,    (  1853). 

The  Papal  Brief,  making  Upper  Michi- 
gan a  Vicariate  Apostolic,  reads  as  fol- 
lows : 

PIUS  IX.  POPE. 
For  the  future  remembrance.  The 
Apostolic  office,  so  undeservedly  con- 
ferred upon  L's  by  divine  Council,  com- 
mands that,  in  the  government  of  the 
Church,  We  execute  that  which  may  be 
conducive  to  the  greater  emolument  of  re- 
ligion. Since  the  venerable  Brothers  the 
Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  United  States 
of  America,  among  whom  was  the  Per- 
petual Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of 
Detroit,  constituted  so  by  the  Apostolic 
See,  were  recently  assembled  in  Plenary 
Council  and  have  commended  that  it 
would  be  beneficial  to  the  Catholic  cause 
and  the  good  of  the  souls  if  the  Upper 
Peninsula  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  with 
the  adjacent  islands,  now  belonging  to  the 
civil  jurisdiction  of  the  same  Peninsula,  be 
cut  off  from  the  Diocese  of  Detroit  into 


96 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


a  Vicariate  Apostolic,  the  government  of 
which  be  entrusted  to  a  Prelate  of  Epis- 
copal character  and  dignity.  They  have 
submitted  the  above  humble  petition  to 
Us.  While,  then,  We  have  nothing  more 
at  heart  than  that  the  Catholic  Faith  may 
flourish  and  grow  evermore,  having  had' 
first  due  consultation  with  our  Venerable 
Brothers,  the  Cardinals  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church,  in  charge  of  the  Propa- 


ber,  and  erect  the  divided  separated  and 
considered  as  erected  into  a  Vicariate 
Apostolic,  the  government  of  which  we 
wish  to  entrust  to  a  Prelate  endowed  with 
episcopal  character.  We.  further,  com- 
mand that  the  above  described  region  be 
considered  as  erected  into  a  Vicariate 
Apostolic,  but  with  all  conditions  and  re- 
strictions to  which  other  Vicariates  Apos- 
tolic are  subject.     Notwithstanding  Our 


•  itAttf-bU'W'"-      '  '°'"a  '""'t'*'    ""«^w 

$9j  ■*«& ,^-a  .   <&-^_ 


fRTitfr 


THIS  CUT  SHOWS  THE  CATHEDRAL  AND  RESIDENCE 
THE  ORIGINAL  OF  THIS   DRAWING  IS  IN 

ganda  Fide,  We  have  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion to  erect  a  new  Vicariate.  There- 
fore, with  certain  knowledge,  mature  de- 
liberation by  Our  own  and  the  plenitude 
1  if  the  Apostolic  authority,  the  said  Upper 
Peninsula,  with  adjacent  islands,  of  the 
State  of  Michigan,  belonging  to  the  civil 
jurisdiction  of  same  Upper  Peninsula, 
and  now  pertaining  to  the  Diocese  of  De- 
troit, We  divide,   separate  and  dismem- 


OF  BISHOP  BARAGA  AT  SACLT  STE  MARIE  IN   1853. 
POSSESSION  OF   HON.   JUDGE   STEERE. 

and  that  of  the  Apostolic  Chancery's 
Rcgula  de  jure  quaesito  non  tollcndo  as 
well  as  that  of  Benedict  XIV..  Our  Pre- 
decessor super  divisione  matrum  and  other 
Apostolic  and  Universal  Provincial  and 
Synodal  Councils,  general  or  special  con- 
stitution and  regulations  and  any  others 
whatsoever  to  the  contrary.  Given  in 
Rome,    at    St.    Mary    Major,    under   the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  A.XD  MARQUETTE 


97 


Fisherman's  ring,  the  29th  of  July,  1853, 
the  eight  year  of  Our  Pontificate. 
For  the  Lord  Cardinal  Lambruschini 
Jo.  B.  Brancaleoni-Castellani, 

Substitute. 

Vicars  Apostolic  are  not  always  bish- 
ops, but  in  our  instance  at  the  special 
request  of  the  Fathers  of  the  First  Plen- 
ary Council,  Baraga  was  invested  with 
the  character  of  a  bishop  and  conse- 
quently, as  is  customary,  was  given  the 
title  of  an  extinct  diocese  in  partibus  in- 
Melxum.  This  is  duly  set  forth  in  the 
following  brief : 

Pius  IX.  Pope. 

Beloved  Son,  Health  and  Apostolic 
Benediction.  The  office  of  the  Apostolate, 
conferred  upon  Us,  not  through  Our  own 
merits,  from  on  High,  by  which  We  pre- 
side over  the  government  of  all  churches. 
by  divine  design,  striving,  with  the  help 
of  the  Lord,  usefully  to  exercise,  We  are 
solicitous  in  Our  heart  and  watchful,  that 
when  there  is  a  question  of  committing  the 
government  of  churches,  We  endeavor 
to  give  them  such  pastors,  who  know  how 
to  teacli  people  entrusted  to  their  care, 
not  only  by  word  of  doctrine  but  also  by 
the  example  of  good  works  and  are  de- 
sirous and  capable,  under  God,  healthful- 
ly to  guide  and  happily  to  govern  the 
churches  commissioned  to  them,  in  peace 
and  tranquillity.  Since  We  have  reserved 
the  provision  for  all  churches,  that  are 
now  or  shall  in  future  be  vacant,  to  Our 
own  appointment  and  disposition  and  de- 
clared thence  forth  null  and  void  all 
efforts  to  the  contrary,  no  matter  by  what 
authority,  whether  knowingly  or  un- 
knowingly made.  The  episcopal  church, 
then,  of  Amyzonia,  under  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Stauropolis,  in  partibus  in- 


fidelium,  being  deprived  of  a  pastor,  that 
it  may  no  longer  suffer  under  the  incon- 
veniences of   a   vacancy,   being  desirous 
with   paternal   and   solicitous   interest  to 
make  quick  and  happy  provision,  in  which 
no  one  outside  of  L's  could  and  can  inter- 
pose by  reservation  or  decree  contrary  to 
the  above,  after  a  diligent   deliberation, 
which  We  have  had,  about  placing  at  the 
head  of  same  church  a  useful  and  fruit- 
ful person,  with  Our  Venerable  Brothers 
the  Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church. 
in  charge  of  the  Propaganda  Fide,  We 
turned  Our  attention  to  you,  who  born  of 
lawful  wedlock,  and  of  lawful  age,  are 
commended  for  zeal  for  religion,  learning 
and  prudence.    Duly  considering  all  these, 
Beloved  Son,  We  absolve  you  and  hold 
you  absolved,  in  so  far  as  this  matter  is 
concerned,  from  whatsoever  excommuni- 
cation, suspension,  interdict  and  all  other 
ecclesiastical  censures,  sentences  and  pun- 
ishments no  matter  what  way  or  for  what 
reason  pronounced,  if  you  have  perhaps 
incurred  any,  in  virtue  of  our  Apostolic 
authority   with   the   advice  of  the    same 
Brothers,  by  these  presents,  We  make  pro- 
vision for  said  church  of  Amyzonia   in 
your  person,  which  is  acceptable  to  Us 
and  the  above-mentioned  Cardinals  on  ac- 
count of  the  excellence  of  your  merits. 
We  appoint  you  its  bishop  and   pastor, 
fully  committing  to  you  the  care,  rule  and 
administration  of  that  church,  in  spirituals 
and  temporals,  trusting  in  Him  who  be- 
stoweth  graces  and  gifts  that  said  church, 
the  Lord  guiding  your  actions,  will  pros- 
per, as  well  in  spirituals  as  in  temporals, 
by  your  watchful  diligence  and  studious- 
ness  that  it  will  be  directed  unto  useful- 
ness and  prosperity  and  that  the  orthodox 
doctrine    will   increase.      Accepting   with 


I*  IN 


SAULT  STB.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


99 


prompt  devotion  the  burden  placed  upon 
your  shoulders  you  will  faithfully  under- 
take   the    care    and    administration,    and 
with    prudence    exercise    them,    that    the 
aforesaid  church  may  be  truly  entrusted 
to  a  prudent  ruler  and  administrator  and 
that  besides  the  eternal  retribution,  you 
henceforth    fully    merit    Our    favor    and 
blessing  and  that  of  the  Apostolic   See. 
Besides    We    accord    you    permission    by 
Our  Apostolic  authority,  that  as  long  as 
said  church  is  in  the  hands  of  infidels  you 
may  neither  be  obliged  to  take  possession 
of  it  nor  personally  to  reside  there.  As  for 
the   rest,   looking  with   favor  upon   your 
own  accommodation  We   impart  to  you 
the  faculty  to  receive  law  fully  and  validly 
the  gift  of  consecration  from  any  Catho- 
lic   Prelate,    whom   you   may   choose,    in 
favor  anil  communion  of  this  Apostolic 
See,  inviting  two  other  bishops  to  act  as 
his  assistants,  or  if  they  cannot  easily  be 
had,   in  their  stead,  two  secular  priests, 
or  of  any  Order.  Congregation  or  Regular 
Institute,   enjoying  like   favor  and  com- 
munion, and  We  grant  the  same  Prelate 
the   faculty,   in  like  manner   lawfully  to 
bestow   upon   you   the   aforesaid   gift   of 
consecration    with    Our    Apostolic    Au- 
thority, after  having  first  received   from 
you  the  profession  of  Faith  according  to 
the    articles   proposed    by    this    Apostolic 
See  and  the  usual  oath  of  due  fidelity,  in 
Our  name  and  that  of  the  Roman  church. 
We  will,  however,  and  by  the  same  au- 
thority command  and  decree  that  if  with- 
out having  first   received   from  you   this 
oath  and  the  profession  of  Faith  the  above 
Prelate  presumes  to  bestow  upon  you  the 
gift  of  consecration  and  you  to  receive  it, 
the  same  Prelate  as  well  as  you,  by  the 
very  fact,  be  suspended  from  the  Ponti- 


fical office  and  from  the  government  and 
administration  of  your  churches.  Not- 
withstanding the  apostolic  Constitution, 
Instructions  and  any  others  whatsoever 
to  the  contrary. 

Given   in    Rome,  at   St.    Alary   Major, 
under  the  ring  of  the  Fisherman,  the  29th 
of  July,  1853,  the  eight  year  of  our  Ponti- 
ficate. 
For  the  Lord  Cardinal  Lambruschini 

jo.  B.  Bkancaleoni-Castellani. 

Substitute. 

As  Bishop  of  Amyzonia,  Baraga  was 
appointed  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Upper 
.Michigan  by  the  following  Apostolic  let- 
ters. 

Pius  IX.  Pope. 

Beloved  Son,  Health  and  Apostolic 
Benediction.  As  We  have,  by  similar 
Apostolic  letters,  in  form  of  breves, 
erected  the  Upper  Peninsula,  of  the  State 
of  Michigan,  in  North  America,  into  a 
Vicariate  Apostolic,  it  was  necessary  that 
we  select  an  able  man  to  whom  We  may 
commit  the  government  of  said  Vicariate. 
Having,  then,  duly  deliberated  in  this 
matter  with  Our  venerable  Brothers,  the 
Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church  in 
charge  of  the  Propaganda  Fide,  We  have 
turned  our  attention  to  you,  who  com- 
mended for  piety,  zeal  for  religion,  and 
missionary  work  among  Indians,  appear 
to  Us  worthy  to  fill  that  office.  We  there- 
fore, with  advice  of  the  same  Cardinals. 
by  Our  Apostolic  Authority,  elect  and 
constitute  you,  whom  We  have,  by  similar 
letters  of  this  very  date,  appointed  Bishop 
of  Amyzonia,  in  partibus  iundclium,  Vicar 
Apostolic  of  the  mentioned  Upper  Pen- 
insula of  the  State  of  Michigan  and  we 
grant  you  all  necessary  and  opportune 
faculties   required    for  the   fulfillment   of 


100 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


that  office.  We,  further,  command  to 
all,  whom  this  concerns  or  shall  in  future 
concern,  that  they  receive  you  and  admit, 
as  per  these  letters,  as  Vicar  Apostolic  of 
said  region,  that  they  favor,  obey  and 
assist  you  in  as  much  as  this  office  re- 
quires, otherwise  we  shall  ratify  any 
sentences  or  punishment,  which  you  pro- 
nounce or  inflict  against  the  rebellious, 
and  shall  have  it  inviolably  observed,  until 
condign  satisfaction  shall  have  been  made. 
Notwithstanding  the  Apostolic  and  Uni- 
versal, Provincial  and  Synodal  Councils, 
general  or  special  Constitutions  and 
Regulations,  and  any  others  whatsoever 
to  the  contrary.  Given  in  Rome,  at  St. 
Alary  Major,  under  the  Fisherman's  ring, 
the  29th  of  July  1853,  the  eight  year  of 
Our  Pontificate. 

For  the  Lord  Cardinal  Lambruschini 
)o.  B.  Brancaleoni-Castellani, 

Substitute. 
The  necessary  episcopal  outfit  was  pro- 
cured in  Detroit ;  and  after  a  three  days 
retreat  at  Father  Hammer's  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Father  Baraga  was  consecrat- 
ed Bishop,  November  1st,  1S53,  in  St. 
Peter's  Cathedral,  by  Archbishop  Pur- 
cell,  and  Bishops  Lefevere  of  Detroit,  and 
Henni  of  Milwaukee,  as  con-consecrators. 
On  the  back  of  the  Bull  of  appointment 
as  bishop  the  consecrators  have  made  the 
following  attest  of  consecration: 

"We,  the  undersigned  make  known  to 
all  and  attest  that  the  gift  of  consecratfon 
has  been  conferred  upon  the  Rt.  Reverend 
Frederic  Baraga  on  the  first  day  of  No- 
vember in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thous- 
and and  eight  hundred  fifty  three,  in  the 
.Metropolitan  church  of  Cincinnati  by  the 
Most  Rev.  John  Baptist  Purcell,  Arch- 
bishop of  Cincinnati,  with  the  assistance 


of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Peter  Paul  Lefevere, 
Bishop  of  Zela  and  Coadjutor-bishop  and 
Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of  Detroit 
and  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni, 
Bishop  of  Milwaukee,  and  also  in  the 
presence  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Martin  John 
Spaulding,  Bishop  of  Louisville.  In  wit- 
ness whereof  we  have  signed  these  pres- 
ents the  2nd  day  of  November  year  as 
above.     In  Cincinnati. 

*J.  B.. 

Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 
•k  Peter  Paul, 

Bishop  of  'Ada. 
Coad.  Adm.  of  Detroit. 
»J«Joiin   Martin   bp., 
Bp.  of  Milwaukee. 
At  the   same  time   the  Jesuit   Father, 
George  Aloysius  Carrell  was  consecrated 
as  bishop  of  Covington,  Kentucky.     Bish- 
op  Spalding  of  Louisville  delivered  the 
occasional  sermon  taking  his  text  from 
Leviticus  XXI,  10.  1 

Baraga  held  his  first  Pontifical  High- 
mass  in  St.  Mary's  church  of  that  city, 
November  6th,  and  gave  Confirmation  for 
the  first  time,  November  10th,  at  Stone- 
lick,  Ohio. 

The  fact  of  his  consecration  as  Bishop 
did  not  change  his  plan  to  go  to  Europe. 
Before  leaving,  however,  he  apprised  his 
spiritual  children  of  his  elevation  to  the 
episcopate,  and  addressed  to  them  from 
Cincinnati,  a  pastoral  letter,  one  to  the 
Indians,  and  another  to  the  white  popu- 
lation of  his  new  Vicariate.    To  the  latter 

he  wrote : 

FREDERIC  BARAGA,  RY  THE  GRACE  OF 
GOD  AND  THE  FAVOR  OF  THE  APOS- 
TOLIC SEE,  VICAR  APOSTOLIC  OF  THE 
UPPER  PENINSULA  OF  MICHIGAN. 
"TO  THE  FAITHFUL  OF  HIS  DIOCESE, 
HEALTH     AND    BENEDICTION.       VEN- 

1  Wahrheitsfreund,   Cincinnati,   Nov.   3,    1853. 


M 


m  m  mil 


it  ^  * 


ill  mill 


H 
Z 

z 

< 
a 

s 


102 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ERAHLE  BRETHREN  OF  THE  CLERGY  AND 
DEARLY  BELOVED  CHILDREN  IN  CHRIST 
JESUS. 

"Grace  be  unto  you  and  peace  from  God 
the  Father,  and  from  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  our  sins, 
that  he  might  deliver  us  from  this  present 
wicked  world  according  to  the  will  of 
God  and  our  Father. 

"And  the   will   of  God,   our   heavenly 
Father,  is  our  sanctification,  our  eternal 
happiness;  that  we  should  love  him  and 
serve  him  in  this  world,  and  be  happy 
with  him  forever  in  the  next.     And  there 
is  no  true  happiness  but  with  him  and  in 
him.     God  Almighty  has  created  us  for 
happiness;  and  he  could  not  create  us  for 
anything  else,  because  he  is  Charity,  and 
all  his  designs  and  ways  are  charity  and 
mercy.     He  has  created  all  things  for  us, 
but  he  has  created  us  for  himself.     And 
if  we,  nevertheless,  see  how  much  misery 
and  unhappiness  there  is  among  us  in  this 
world,  and  are  taught  that  innumerable 
souls  are  in  eternal  sufferings  in  the  next 
world,    we    must    acknowledge    that    the 
cause  of  all  that,  is  not  the  will  of  God, 
but   our   own   wickedness,    our   want   of 
obedient  submission  to  the  most  holy  and 
merciful    will   of    God   Almighty.     Our 
Saviour  and  our  God  is  infinitely  faithful 
to  his  promises.    He  promised  us  solemnly 
that  whosoever  shall  fulfill  the  will  of  his 
Father,  and  our  Father,  that  is  in  heaven, 
shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  be 
there  eternally  happy  with  God.     We  see 
then  plainly  before  us  the  way  to  happi- 
ness ;  it  is  'The  fulfilling  of  the  will  of 
God,  the  fulfilling  of  our  duties  towards 
him.' 

"Dearly  beloved,  as  I  wish  your  eternal 
happiness  with  the  same  heartful  desire  as 


I  do  my  own,  I  entreat  you  with  all  my 
heart,  be  faithful  in  the  fulfilling  of  your 
duties  toward  God,  and  God  will  reward 
you  for  it  in  his  heavenly  kingdom. 

"I  will  now  explain  to  you  our  principal 
and  most  sacred  duties  towards  God, 
that  you  may  mind  them,  and  with  the 
help  of  God  fulfill  them  faithfully.  Read 
these  instructions  with  attention ;  not 
only  once,  and  then  throw  them  away  and 
forget  them,  but  read  them  repeatedly,  en- 
deavor to  practice  them.  This  is  the  first 
time  I  speak  to  you,  through  these  lines, 
as  your  principal  Pastor  and  Bishop.  Let 
these  words  enter  into  your  hearts  as  they 
come  out  of  my  heart.  This  heart  has 
ever  loved  you,  my  dear  children,  but 
never  so  paternally  as  now. 

"i.  Our  first  essential  duty  towards 
God  is  the  duty  of  Faith,  which  con- 
sists in  the  believing  of  every  word  that 
God  has  revealed  to  us,  without  rejecting 
a  single  point  of  revealed  faith.  Some 
truths  of  our  religion  are  so  sublime  that 
we  cannot  comprehend  them  with  our 
feeble  and  limited  reason.  These  truths 
we  also  must  believe  on  the  authority  of 
God  who  never  can  err,  never  deceive,  nor 
be  deceived.  That  there  are  in  our  holy 
religion  some  truths  so  sublime  that  we 
cannot  comprehend  them,  shows  the 
divine  character  of  it  and  admonishes  us 
of  the  necessity,  of  the  absolute  submis- 
sion of  our  limited  reason  to  the  infallible 
authority  of  God.  To  reject  a  single  point 
would  be  to  destroy  the  whole,  because 
if  God  could  err  or  deceive  only  in  one 
point,  his  authority  would  be  no  better 
than  human. 

"This  duty  of  faith  is  essential  and  the 
fulfilling  of  it  necessary  for  salvation,  be- 
cause  without    faith   it   is   impossible   to 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


103 


please  God.     And  Christ  said   very  ex- 
pressly :    'He  that  believes  and  is  baptized, 

shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believes  not, 
shall  be  condemmed.'  But  we  must  not 
think  that  faith  alone  will  save  us,  as 
many  believe  who  do  not  belong  to  the 
true  church  of  God.  We  have  the  infalli- 
ble authority  of  the  word  of  God  for  it, 
that  faith  without  good  works  is  dead ; 
and  a  dead  faith,  will  certainly  not  pro- 
cure us  life  everlasting.  The  devils  alsi  > 
believe  and  tremble,  but  they  remain 
devils,  because  their  faith  is  fruitless,  and 
ever  was  so.  Our  faith  must  be  a  living 
faith;  and  a  living  faith  only  will  give  us 
life  everlasting  in  heaven.  In  order  to  have 
a  living  faith,  we  must  show  it  in  our  life 
and  behavior;  we  must  live  by  our  faith 
according  to  the  principles  of  our  holy  re- 
ligion ;  we  must  make  it  our  rule  of 
life.  If  we  have,  and  preserve  until  death 
the  true  faith  and  do  not  live  according 
to  its  precepts,  we  shall  be  cast  out  into 
exterior  darkness  on  the  day  of  judgment, 
like  that  slothful  servant,  who  received  a 
precious  talent  at  the  hands  of  his  master, 
and  merely  preserved  it.  but  made  no 
profit  of  it.  Our  holy  Catholic  faith  is 
a  most  precious  and  immense  treasure, 
infinitely  more  precious  than  all  the  gold 
and  silver  of  the  universe.  This  is  that 
precious  talent  which  our  heavenly  Lord 
and  Master  entrusted  to  us,  His  servants, 
that  we  may  deal  in  it,  and  make  all  pos- 
sible profit  by  it,  against  the  day  of  ac- 
count. He  that  merely  preserves  this  tal- 
ent, and  makes  no  profit  of  it,  will  cer- 
tainly be  cast  into  that  horrid  darkness 
of  eternal  damnation. 

"Examine  yourselves,  beloved  children, 
whether  your  faith  is  living  and  profita- 
ble, or  dead  and  fruitless.     How  unhappy 


is  the  negligent  Catholic  who  possesses 
that  precious  talent,  the  true  faith,  re- 
vealed bv  the  Son  of  God,  and  does  not 
profit  by  it!  Oh,  how  those  unfortunate 
victims  of  the  justice  of  God  regret  that 
the_\-  did  not  make  a  better  use  of  their 
religion  when  it  was  time!  Would  they 
lie  allowed  to  return  to  this  world,  oh, 
how  faithful  would  they  be  in  fulfilling  all 
Christian  duties !  They  will  never  more 
be  allowed  to  return  to  this  world ;  but 
you,  my  dearest  children,  are  vet  in  the 
world.  But  your  time  will  soon  pass 
away  forever.  Profit  by  it;  it  will  be  for 
your  everlasting  happiness.  You  have  an 
immense  treasure  in  your  hands,  you  can 
buy  heaven  with  it.  How  unfortunate 
would  you  be  if  you  profit  not  by  such 
an  opportunity ! 

"II.  Another  great  duty  of  a  Christ- 
ian towards  his  God  is  the  duty  of  Adora- 
tion. As  soon  as  we  believe  in  God  and 
believe  in  His  revealed  word,  we  will 
easily  understand  how  great  our  duty  is 
to  adore  Him  and  Him  alone.  "The 
Lord  thy  God  thou  shalt  adore  and  serve 
Him  alone."  We  are  often  accused  by 
our  adversaries  of  adoring  creatures 
equally  with  the  Creator.  Let  them  say 
what  they  please.  Every  Catholic  child 
knows  that  we  adore  only  God  Almighty, 
and  no  other  being.  But  we  pray  to  the 
saints  in  heaven  that  they  may  pray  with 
us  and  for  us  to  God  Almighty. 

"The  duty  of  praying  is  a  great  and 
holy  duty.  We  are  expressly  commanded 
to  pray  continually  and  never  to  cease. 
Xot  only  the  word  of  our  Savior,  but  also 
His  holy  example  teaches  us  the  duty  of 
praying;  He  was  continually  praying 
and  spent  whole  nights  in  prayer. 

"Never  neglect  your  prayers,  beloved 


104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


children.  A  Christian  without  prayer  is 
like  a  soldier  without  arms;  exposed  to 
every  attack  of  his  enemies,  and  easily 
overcome.  We  are  soldiers  of  Christ; 
our  whole  life  is  a  kind  of  warfare  against 
our  enemies  visible  and  invisible ;  and  our 
strongest  weapon  is  prayer.  If  you  throw 
away  that  weapon,  how  will  you  be  able 
to  withstand  the  violent  and  repeated  at- 
tacks of  your  enemies?  Remember  the 
warning  of  our  Savior,  that  we  must 
watch  and  pray;  or  else  the  enemy  will 
soon  overcome  us. 

"Although  we  have  always  to  pray  and 
never  to  cease,  still  there  are  some  periods 
of  time  in  which  we  are  more  strictly 
obliged  to  pray.  These  are  especially  the 
beginning  and  the  end  of  every  day; 
therefore,  every  faithful  Christian  ought, 
invariably,  to  perform  his  morning  and 
evening  prayer.  And  if  he  does  not,  he 
neglects  a  decided  and  sacred  duty  to- 
wards God,  and  deprives  himself  of  many 
graces;  because  prayer  is  the  principal 
channel  through  which  the  grace  of  God 
flows  into  our  hearts. 

"Dearly  beloved  children,  be  faithful 
in  the  fulfilling  of  this  holy  duty:  and 
never  say,  I  have  no  time  to  pray.  G  >ur 
sider  how  ungrateful  this  is.  God  Al- 
mighty gives  you  twenty-four  hours 
every  day  for  your  works  and  wants. 
And  out  of  these  twenty-four  hours  you 
cannot  give  a  few  minutes  to  God  for 
the  fulfilling  of  a  great  duty?  Fear  the 
reproaches  of  God  on  the  day  of  judg- 
ment !  It  requires  only  a  good  will  and 
firm  resolution  to  fulfill  this  duty,  and 
you  will  find  means  and  time  to  do  it. 
And  don't  think,  my  dear  .children,  that 
in  remote  places  you  are  not  very  strictly 
obliged  to  perform  your  prayers.     This 


is  a  pernicious  illusion.  God  is  every- 
where, and  must  be  served  everywhere. 
Our  Savior  says  plainly  that  the  true 
adorers  and  servants  of  God  will  adore 
Him  everywhere  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

"Be  especially  faithful  in  fulfilling  the 
duty  of  praying  on  the  day  of  Our  Lord, 
on  Sunday,  which  is  set  apart  by  God 
Almighty  for  His  special  service.  \\  e 
read  in  Holy  Scripture  how  severely  God 
had  punished  Sabbath-breakers  in  ancient 
times.  If  He  does  not  punish  them  al- 
ways now  in  this  world,  He  certainly  will 
in  the  next.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  (but. 
nevertheless,  very  true,  and  it  came  a 
thousand  times  within  my  experience) 
that  many  Christians  living  in  remote 
places  neglect  more  their  duty  of  praying 
and  commit  more  sins  on  Sunday  than  on 
any  other  day  of  the  week.  How  horrid 
this  is !  And  what  a  responsibility  on  the 
day  of  judgment!  Be  careful,  dear  chil- 
dren, and  fear  the  judgment  of  God.  It 
may  fall  upon  you  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly. Watch  and  pray.  Perform 
your  prayers  every  morning  and  every 
evening,  and  during  the  day  frequently 
remember  God ;  and  so  you  will  fulfill  that 
precept  of  our  Savior:  "Pray  continually 
and  never  cease." 

"III.  The  third  of  our  principal  and 
most  essential  duties  toward  God  is  the 
duty  of  Respect ;  that  we  ought  to  respect 
God  more  than  any  other  person  on  earth. 
This  duty  seems  to  be  plainly  understood. 
and  it  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  course  that 
God  be  more  respected  than  any  person 
on  earth,  because  He  is  the  most  Perfect 
Being.  And  still  there  is  hardly  any 
other  duty  towards  God  that  is  so  often 
transgressed,  especially  by  many  classes 
of  people,  than  this  very  duty  of  respect. 


tun  ^tlm^f-ti^- 


iy-Hi 


6 


11  NOT  1   |HMH 


8 

,N  "S  Q 


^  *  4  1 5  ?  I  |oa  Vi  vV  Jul  Is  +:  Kr 

V:  4i  4  1  S;X  tf  J  >><§  J 


(n5 


■3 '  "S      §    ;§     §      -     •  ■ 


rs- 


1 


^lllib-  tit  fiHlii-r 


cs 


^ 


2^  tl  1 1  Til  J  M  i^  1  N- 1  ^  ^ 


rVjfe 


106 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


"To  fulfill  this  duty,  we  ought  never  to 
forget  the  presence  of  God,  but  contin- 
ually to  remember,  as  we  are  taught  by 
our   faith,  that  God  Almighty  is  every- 
where    present,     that     He     knows     our 
thoughts,  hears  our  words,  and  sees  our 
actions ;  and  then  to  behave  as  it  becomes 
the  awful  presence  of  God.     When  a  be- 
lieving Christian  (as  they  commonly  are) 
is   in   the   presence   of   a    respected   and 
worthy  clergyman,  he  behaves  decently; 
not  a  single  word  will  escape  his  lips  that 
could  offend  the  respected  person;  not  a 
single  action  or  gesture  will   take  place 
that  could  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  person 
of  that  respectable  character.     But  con- 
sider the  same  Christian  when  he  is  in 
his   ordinary   common    society,    amongst 
persons   whi  mi   he   does   not   particularly 
respect.     He  will  behave  quite  differently, 
he  will  use  bad  language,  he  will  curse, 
swear,  blaspheme,  and  pronounce  impure, 
obscene  words.     And  all  this  in  the  very 
presence  of  God,  the  Most  Holy,  the  Most 
High.     What  a  want  of  respect!     And 
what  a  perversity !     He  respects  the  pres- 
ence of  a  man,  and  does  not  respect  the 
awful  presence  of  his  God!    And  trans- 
gresses horribly  the  sacred  duty  of  respect 
towards  God.     If  God  Almighty  would 
require  of  us  only  as  much   respect  for 
His  Most  Holy  Majesty  as  we  use  to- 
wards respectable  persons  on  earth,  every 
believing  Christian   would   say   that  this 
would   not   be   enough.      And    indeed    it 
would  not  be  enough,  because  there  is  no 
comparison  between  the  respectability  of 
the  highest  person  in  this  world  and  the 
Most  Holy  Majesty  of  God !    And  still — 
to  the  shame  of  the  majority  of  Chris- 
tians we  must  acknowledge  it — there  is 
less  respect  among  Christians  for  God  Al- 


mighty than   for   respectable  persons   in 
this  world. 

"Consider  this,  dearly  beloved  children, 
and  reflect  seriously  how  often  you  have 
transgressed  this  sacred  duty  towards 
God;  how  often  you  have  spoken  words 
and  committed  actions  in  the  presence  of 
God  which  you  never  would  do  in  the 
presence  of  a  clergyman  or  other  respect- 
able person.  Repent  of  it,  beloved  chil- 
dren, and  make  a  firm  resolution  never  to 
i<  irget  the  presence  of  God ;  to  look  at 
Him  constantly  with  the  eyes  of  faith, 
and  to  behave  in  His  presence  as  it  be- 
ci  unes  a  believing  Christian,  who  knows 
that  God,  his  future  judge,  everywhere 
sees  him,  and  hears  all  his  words. 

"IV.  The  fourth  principal  duty  of  a 
Christian  towards  his  God  is,  the  duty  of 
Obedience.  We  have  strict  duties  of 
obedience  even  to  certain  persons  in  this 
world.  Thus  children  are  strictly  obliged 
to  be  obedient  to  their  parents;  and  ser- 
vants are  commanded  by  the  word  of  God 
to  be  obedient  to  their  masters  in  all 
things  that  are  not  against  the  law  of 
God ;  and  to  be  obedient  even  to  wicked 
and  peevish  masters.  But  far  greater  is 
our  duty  of  obedience  towards  God,  who 
is  our  heavenly  Father,  and  the  best  of 
Fathers,  our  Supreme  Lord  and  Master, 
and  the  kindest  of  Masters. 

"To  be  obedient  means,  to  fulfill  the 
will  of  a  superior.  To  be  obedient  to  God 
means,  then,  to  fulfill  His  holy  will.  When 
a  master  wants  his  servant  to  do  some- 
thing for  him,  he  will  tell  him  what  he 
has  to  do,  and  the  servant  will  know  the 
will  of  his  master.  But  how  can  we 
know  what  God,  our  heavenly  Lord  and 
Master,  wants  us  to  do?  God  has  estab- 
lished several  means  by  which  we  may 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


107 


understand  what  is  His  will,  in  order  to 
fulfill  it.     The  voice  of  conscience  is  one 
of  these  means  by  which  God  gives  us  to 
understand  His  will.     The  voice  of  your 
conscience  is  the  voice  of  God.     Pay  at- 
tention to  the  voice  of  your  conscience 
and  you  will  understand  that.     When  you 
propose  to  do  wrong,  or  are  in  danger  of 
committing  sin,  your  conscience  will  im- 
mediately   warn   you   not    to   do   evil,    to 
avoid  it  by  all  means.     On  the  contrary, 
when  you  propose  to  do  good,  and  find 
opportunity  to  do  so,  your  conscience  will 
encourage  you  to  do  all  the  good  you  can. 
See  here  is  the  plain  will  of  God.     To 
avoid  evil  and  do  good,  this  is  for  us  in- 
variably the  will  of  God.     So,  then,  be- 
loved children,  in  order  to  fulfill  the  holy 
will  of  God  Almighty,  listen  to  your  con- 
science and  follow  its  dictates,  avoiding 
what  it  forbids  you,  and  doing  what  it 
commands  you,  and  by  so  doing  you  will 
fulfill    the    sacred   duty   of    obedience   to 
God. 

"Another  means  by  which  God  Al- 
mighty makes  us  know  His  holy  will  is 
the  "word  of  God."  which  is  written  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  other  good  re- 
ligious books,  and  is  announced  to  us  by 
the  pastors  of  His  Church.  Their  instruc- 
tions have  been  called  the  "word  of  God" 
from  the  first  times  of  Christendom,  as 
we  see  in  Holy  Scripture  (  i  Thes.  ii,  13.). 
And  our  Savior  commands  us  expressly 
to  listen  to  the  pastors  of  His  church  with 
the  same  respect  and  submission  as  to 
Himself.  He  commands  them  to  preach 
His  doctrine  to  the  whole  world,  and  as- 
sures us  that  we  hear  Himself  when  we 
hear  them.  Dearly  beloved  children,  in 
order  to  be  obedient  to  God,  your  heaven- 
ly Father  and  Supreme  Master,  be  faith- 


ful in  the  fulfilling  of  the  precepts  and  in- 
structions of  your  good  pastors  and  con- 
fessors. Be  thankful  to  God  that  He 
makes  you  know  His  holy  will  by  these 
means  and  profit  by  them.  Remember 
what  an  awful  responsibility  awaits  you 
on  the  day  of  judgment  if  you  do  not 
profit  by  such  means  of  salvation. 

"V.   The  fifth   principal  duty   we  have 
inwards  God,  is  the  duty  of  Love;  that 
we  ought  to  love  God  above  all.     This  is 
a  most  holy  duty  of  every  Christian:  but, 
unfortunately,  much  neglected,  and  very 
rarely  fulfilled  as  it  ought  to  be.     How 
strict  and  important  this  our  duty  is,  we 
may  understand  by  the  express  command 
of  our  Savior  to  love  God,  and  by  His 
minute  description  of  the  character  of  our 
love  towards  God.     Xot  only  did  he  say 
that  we  must  love  God.  but  He  explained 
that   we   must    love   the   Lord   our   God 
"with    our    whole    heart    and    with    our 
whole  soul  and  with  our  whole  mind  and 
with  our  whole  strength."     The  ancient 
Fathers  of  the  Church  wondered  that  it 
was  necessary  to  give  to  Christians  an  ex- 
press commandment  to  love  God.     "Is  it 
not  natural,"  they  say,  "to  the  heart  of  a 
Christian,  who  is  a  child  of  God,  to  love 
his  heavenly  Father  above  all?     Was  it 
necessary  to  command  it,  to  prescribe  it?" 
Oh,  certainly  it  was!    And  notwithstand- 
ing this  express  commandment  and  the 
detailed  description  of  it,  very  few  Chris- 
tians love  God  according  to  this  descrip- 
tion of  our  Savior. 

"Consider  often,  beloved  children,  these 
four  marks  of  the  true  love  of  God,  and 
examine  yourselves  whether  your  love 
has  these  marks.  And  do  not  think  that 
only    a    few    chosen    and    extraordinary 


ins 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


109 


souls  are  obliged  to  love  God  thus.  Xo! 
we  are  all  obliged  to  love  Him! 

"The  first  mark  of  the  true  love  of  God 
is,  that  we  love  Him  with  our  whole 
heart ;  that  is,  that  we  do  not  divide  our 
heart  between  God  and  the  world,  be- 
tween the  Creator  and  the  creature.  God 
is  a  jealous  God,  as  we  .see  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture; He  suffers  no  other  lover  besides 
Him,  much  less  above  Him.  He  wants 
your  whole  heart,  or  nothing.  If  you 
love  anything  more  than  God,  or  as  much 
as  God,  you  have  nut  the  true  love  of 
God.  And  if  you  are  not  earnestly  ready 
to  part  with  anything  in  the  world  for 
the  love  of  God,  if  He  requires  it  of  you 
through  the  mouth  of  a  pastor  of  His 
Church,  you  do  not  love  Him  with  all 
your  heart ;  your  heart  is  divided,  and 
consequently  not  accepted  by  God  at  all. 
But  understand  well,  beloved  children, 
when  we  are  commanded  to  love  God 
with  our  whole  heart,  this  means  not  that 
we  must  not  love  anything  but  God.  We 
may  love,  and  we  are  ci  immanded  to  love, 
our  parents,  our  relatives,  our  benefac- 
tors, our  friends,  even  our  enemies.  But 
we  must  love  all  in  God,  according  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  for  God's  sake ;  and  God, 
in  all  and  above  all.  And  so  we  will  love 
Him  with  our  whole  heart. 

"The  second  mark  of  the  true  love  of 
God  is,  that  we  love  Him  with  our  whole 
soul.  This  is  a  Scriptural  expression. 
We  often  find  in  Holy  Scripture  the  word 
"soul"  instead  of  "life."  So,  then,  for  in- 
stance, our  Savior  says  that  whosoever 
shall  lose  his  "soul"  in  this  world  for  His 
sake,  shall  find  it  in  the  next;  that  is, 
wdiosoever  shall  lose  his  "life"  for  his 
Savior's  sake  in  this  world,  shall  find  true 
life  in  the  next.     To  love  God  with  our 


whole  soul,  signifies  that  we  ought  to  love 
Him  more  than  our  own  life,  and  be 
-firmly  resolved  to  lose  our  life  rather  than 
to  lose  Him,  through  sin.  It  ought  to  be 
our  firm  and  earnest  resolution  rather  to 
die  than  to  offend  God.  But,  alas!  how 
often  will  the  Christian  commit  sin,  even 
a  mortal  sin.  not  to  save  his  life,  but  for  a 
mere  trifle,  for  the  pleasure  of  a  moment, 
for  a  small  lucre,  for  the  vapor  of  a 
worldly  honor,  for  the  sake  of  a  worldly 
friend,  and  so  forth.  What  would  he  not 
do  if  his  life  were  at  stake!  And  still  we 
are  called  upon — all  of  us — to  lose  rather 
our  life  than  to  offend  God  with  a  single 
sin!  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  solemn 
appeal  of  Christ :  "Love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  thy  whole  soul!" 

"The  third  mark  of  the  true  love  of 
God  is,  to  love  Him  with  our  whole  mind  ; 
that  is,  that  we  should  occupy  our  mind 
and  our  thoughts  continually,  or  at  least 
frequently,  with  the  presence  of  God.  It 
is  natural  to  a  loving  heart  to  remember 
often  the  object  of  its  affection.  Imagine 
a  good  loving  child  who  lives  at  a  dis- 
tance from  his  kind  and  loving  father. 
That  child  will  almost  continually  think 
of  his  father,  and  will  long  after  the 
happy  moment  of  his  reunion  with  the  be- 
loved object  of  his  filial  affections.  So 
ought  ever_\-  Christian  to  do,  because  he 
has  the  happiness  to  be  a  child  of  the  best 
of  Fathers.  And  so  he  will  do  if  he  loves 
God  with  his  whole  mind.  He  will  think 
continually  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and 
never  forget  His  holy  presence.  And 
happy,  infinitely  happy,  is  the  Christian 
who  never  forgets  the  presence  of  his  God 
and  Father.  He  will  behave  decently, 
and  will  carefully  avoid  all  that  could 
offend   his   beloved   Father,   in   thoughts 


110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


and  words  and  actions;  and  will  lead  a 
holy  life  in  the  love  of  God. 

"The  fourth  mark  of  the  true  love  of 
God,  is  that  we  love  Him  with  our  whole 
strength.  The  true  love  of  God  is  the 
greatest  happiness  and  the  most  precious 
privilege  of  a  Christian.  It  is  that  splen- 
did wedding-garment  in  which  he  will  be 
admitted  to  the  happiness  and  eternal  joy 
of  the  "Lamb's  nuptials."  Nothing  in 
the  world  can  be  obtained  without  en- 
deavors and  labor ;  and  the  more  precious 
the  object  and  the  greater  the  fortune 
aimed  at,  the  more  serious  the  efforts  to 
obtain  it.  As  the  true  love  of  God  is  de- 
cidedly the  most  precious  treasure  of  a 
Christian,  so  also  our  efforts  to  obtain 
and  possess  it  ought  to  be  extreme.  But 
when  we  consider  Christians  as  they  com- 
monly are,  we  will  see  how  earnestly 
and  perseveringly  they  endeavor  to  ob- 
tain riches  and  honors  and  pleasures,  and 
all  the  comforts  of  this  perishable  life. 
And  the  love  of  God  ?  This  is  commonly 
crowded  out  entirely,  or,  sought  after  as  a 
by-thing,  not  as  the  "One  Thing  Neces- 
sary." 

"Dearly  beloved  in  Christ  Jesus !  With 
all  the  eagerness  and  solicitude  of  a  lov- 
ing father's  heart  I  entreat  you,  in  the 
name  of  God,  whose  Holy  Providence 
has  now  committed  you  to  my  spiritual 
care,  be  faithful  in  the  fulfilling  of  these 
principal  and  most  essential  duties  to- 
wards God  our  heavenly  Father.  Especi- 
ally endeavor  to  have  the  true  love  of 
God,  which  is  the  very  foundation  of  all 
Christianity,  and  the  glorious  mark  of  a 
happy  predestination.  If  you  love  God 
sincerely  and  above  all,  you  will  easily 
fulfill  all  other  duties  towards  Him.    No- 


thing  is  difficult,   nothing  tedious,  to  a 
loving  heart. 

"The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  charity  of  God,  and  the  communi- 
cation of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  you  all. 
Amen." 

>%•  Frederic 
Bishop   and    J'icar   Apostolic   of    Upper 

Michigan.  2 

To  the  Indians.  Bishop  Baraga  ad- 
dressed the  following  interesting  docu- 
ment, which  as  Father  Verwyst  observes, 
is  a  unicum  of  its  kind.  We  have  em- 
bodied it  here  for  the  simple  reason  that 
it  is  a  document  of  historical  and  some 


BISHOP   BARAGA  S   COAT   OF   ARMS. 

intrinsic  value,  being  the  first  pastoral  of 
the  first  bishop.  The  translation  running 
parrallel  with  the  original  we  have  adopt- 
ed, with  his  kind  permission,  from  Father 
Verwyst  "Life  of  Bishop  Baraga."  The 
original  Indian  pastoral  is  a  small  pamph- 
let of  ten  pages,  5x8^2  inches,  on  the 
paper  cover  is  the  following  inscription : 
"Kitchi-Mekatewikwanaie 
Frederic  Baraga, 

O  Masinaigan. 
Ge-YVabandamowad 


"  We  have  not  been  able  to  come  across  the 
original  of  this  pastoral,  but  are  indebted  for  it 
to  Father  Verwyst,  who  printed  it  in  full  in  hi? 
"Life   of   Bishop   Baraga,"   on   pp.   261-272. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


111 


Kakina  anishinabeg  enamiadjig. 

Cincinnati : 
Printed  at  Catholic  Telegraph  Book  and 
Job  Office. 
Gashkadino-Gisiss,  1853." 
We  intended  a   facsimile   reproduction 
of  the  pastoral  letter,  but  the  text  of  the 
copy,  which  came  under  our  observation, 
belonging  to  Mrs.  Mary  Roy  of  Super- 
ior, Wisconsin,  was  underlined  with  ink 
in  too  many  places,  and  therefore  not  re- 
producible as  we  desired.     At  the  head  of 
the  pastoral  is  the  episcopal  coat  of  arms, 
such  as  we  have  also  reproduced.  As  it 


can  be  seen,  it  is  divided  into  three  fields, 
surmounted  by  the  usual  episcopal  insig- 
nia. In  the  field  to  the  right  is  the  mono- 
gram of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus  with  the 
three  nails  underneath.  In  the  field  to  the 
left  is  the  ni(  mi  igram  of  Mary  with  the 
star  on  top,  and  the  heart  pierced  with 
the  sword  on  the  bottom.  In  the  third 
field,  which  occupies  the  lower  half  of  the 
shield,  are  the  emblems  of  Faith.  Hope 
and  Charity,  namely  the  heart,  the  cross 
and  the  anchor.  The  whole  is  surmount- 
ed by  the  inscription  Unum  Est  Neces- 
sarium,  or  the  "One  Thing  is  Neces- 
sary." 


"Frederic  Baraga, 
Kitchi-Mekatewikwanaie. 

"Ninidjanissidog  Saiagiinagog,  We- 
weni  kid  anamikoninim. 

"Debeniminang  Kije-Manito  kakina 
gego  o  gi-gijiton,  kakina  gego  gaie  win  o 
dibendan.  Win  enendang,  mi  kakina 
gego  ejiwebadinig.  Memindage  dash 
anamiewin,  win  od  ijitwawin  o  mino  gan- 
awendan  aking.  Win  debeniminang  o  gi- 
bidon  anamiewin  gi-bi-ijad  aking  gi-bi- 
jaweniminang,  win  gaie  nitam  gi-bi- 
gagikwe,  gi-kikinoamawad  anishinaben. 
Api  dash  jaigwa  wi-nagadang  aki,  o  gi- 
assan  midasswi  ashi  nij  ininiwan,  mi  sa  o 
kikinoamaganan     tchi     baba-gagikwenid 


"Frederic  Baraga, 
Bishop. 

"My  children,  whom  I  love,  I  salute 
you  well. 

Our  Lord  God  made  all  things  and  he 
owns  all  things.  As  he  wills,  so  all  things 
happen.  But  especially  does  he  take  good 
care  of  prayer,  his  religion,  on  earth. 
He,  our  Lord,  brought  religion,  when  he 
came  on  earth,  when  he  came  to  have 
mercy  on  us,  and  he  first  preached  it, 
when  He  taught  man.  But  when  He 
wanted  to  leave  the  earth  he  appointed 
twelve  men,  that  is,  his  Apostles,  to  go 
about  and  preach  everywhere  on  earth, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  told  them  to  ap- 


112 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


misi  aking ;  bekish  gaie  o  gi-inan  tchi  as- 
sawad  misiwe  ininiwan  meshkwat  ge- 
gagikwenidgin.  Mi  clash  ga-ijitchigewad, 
mojag  dash  gi-aiawag  mekatewikwana- 
ieg,  kitchi-mekatewikwanaieg  gaie,  binish 
nongom  gijigak;  binish  dash  tchi  ishkwa- 
akiwang  mojag  ta-aiawag  misiwe  aking. 
Win  dash  Jesus  weweni  a  ganawendan 
anamiewin ;  gi-ikito  sa  tchi  ganawendang 
kaginig.  Win  gaie  od  assan  kitchi-me- 
katewikwanaien ;  win  od  ineniman  tchi 
aianid  od  anamiewigamigong. 

"Mi  dash  gaie  nin  gi-inenimid  tchi 
kitchi-mekatewikwanaiewiian,  aiano-api- 
tendagosissiwan ;  kakina  dash  nin  minig 
oma  anishinaben  enamianidjin,  nind  inen- 
imig  dash  tchi  mino  ganawenimagwa, 
weweni  tchi  anamiawad,  weweni  gaie 
tchi  ijiwebisiwad  binish  tchi  ishkwa- 
bimadisiwad  aking.  Mi  dash  iw  nongom 
ge-dodaman  ged-akobimadisiian. 

"Nongom  dash  nin  madjita,  nongom 
nitam,  ej  i-Kitchi-mekatweikwanaiewiian, 
kakina  mamawi  ki  ganoninim,  ninidjan- 
issidog  saiagiinagog !  Pisindawishig,  ba- 
bamitawishig,  saiagiinagog!  Anotch  gego 
wenijishing  ki  wi-windamoninim  non- 
gom. Weweni  wabandamog  mandan  nin 
masinaigan,  kawin  eta  abiding  ki  da- 
wabandansinawa,  sasagwana  sa  waban- 
damog; kakina  dash  dodamog  eji-gagi- 
kimigoieg  mongom.  Kishpin  dash  awiia 
nissitawinansig  masinaigan,  mano  kinawa 
nessitawinameg  jawenimig,  kakina  dash 
agindamawig,  kakina  windamawig  minik 
eteg  oma  nin  masinaiganing. 

"Ninidjanissidog  saiagiinagog,  weweni 
mojag  ganawendamog  kid  anamiewiniwa 
ged-ako-bimadisiieg  aking.  Ki  jawenda- 
gosim  gi-odapimameg  gweiakossing  ana- 
miewin.    Kawin  sa  oma  aking  eta  bima- 


point  everywhere  men  to  preach  in  their 
place."  And  that  is  what  they  did,  so  there 
were  always  priests  and  bishops  until  this 
day,  and  until  the  end  of  the  world  there 
will  always  be  such  everywhere  on  earth. 
But  he,  Jesus,  takes ^ good  care  of  relig- 
ion; for  he  said  that  he  would  take  care 
of  it  always.  He  also  appoints  bishops; 
it  is  his  will  that  there  shall  always  be 
such  in  his  church. 


"And  so  he  willed  also  me  to  be  bishop, 
although  I  am  unworthy,  and  he  gave  me 
all  the  Christian  Indians  here,  and  he 
wants  me  to  take  good  care  of  them,  to 
exhort  them  well  to  always  practice  their 
religion,  to  pray  well,  to  behave  well  until 
death.  And  that  is  now-  what  I  shall  do 
as  long  as  I  live. 

"But  now  I  begin,  now  for  the  first 
time,  as  bishop  I  address  you  all  together, 
my  children,  whom  I  love!  Listen  to  me, 
obey  me,  ye  whom  I  love !  I  want  to  tell 
you  various  good  things  now.  Read  well 
this  my  letter;  not  only  once  are  you  to 
read  it,  read  it  often,  and  do  all  things 
as  you  are  now  exhorted  (to  do).  But 
if  one  cannot  read  the  letter,  do  you,  who 
can  read  it.  have  compassion  on  him,  read 
all  of  it  to  him,  tell  him  all  that  is  in  my 
letter. 


"My  children  whom  I  love,  keep  always 
well  your  religion  as  long  as  you  shall  live 
on  earth.  You  are  happy  in  having  taken 
the  true  religion.  For  man  lives  not  only 
here  on  earth,  he  will  live  forever  after 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


113 


disissi  anishinabe,  kaginig  win  ta-bima- 
disi  gi-ishkwa-aiad  aking,  kaginig  o 
tchitchagwan  ta-bimadisiwan.  Ta-mino- 
aiawag  dash  ki  tchitchagonanig  wedi 
kagigekamig,  kishpin  anamiaiang,  bekish 
gaie  weweni  ijiwebisiiang.  Mi  dash  in- 
ge-ondiji-ganawendameg  weweni  kid  ana- 
miewiniwa,  tchi  jawendagosiieg  kagige- 
kamig gijigong  gi-ishk\va-kitimagisiieg 
aking.  Kego  wika  babamendangegon 
bakan  ijitwawin;  kawin  g\yaiakossesinon. 
Migwetch  inenim'ig  Kije-Manito  gi-mini- 
goieg  gweiakossing  anamiewin,  weweni 
dash  ganawendamog  kaginig.  Kego  gaie 
wika  babamendangegon  anishinabe-ijit- 
wawin.  Memindage  gagibadad  iw,  apitchi 
dash  Kije-Manito  Debeniminang  o  jin- 
gendan.  Kitchi  matchi  dodam  enamiad, 
o  kitchi-nishkian  gaie  Kije-Maniton,  kish- 
pin keiabi  babamendang,  gonima  gaie 
neiab  gego  odapinang  minik  ga-webinang 
gi-sig-aandasod. 

"Mino  ganawendamog  kid  anamie- 
win'iwa,  ninidjanissidog;  kagige  jawen- 
dagosiwin  gijigong  wikwatchitog;  kid 
inenimigowa  sa  Debendjiged  tchi  jawen- 
dagosiieg kagigekamig.  Minik  ga-dodang 
Kije-Manito  gi-ojitod  gi-jig  aki  gaie,  gi- 
bi,  ininajaowad  gaie  Ogwissan  aking, 
-kakina  giijitchige  tchi  ondji  kitchitwa- 
wendaming  od  ijinikasowin  anishinabeg 
dash  tchi  ondji  jawendagosiwad.  Kishpin 
anishinabe  bemadisid  aking  babamitawad 
Kije-Maniton,  o  ga-minigon  kagige 
minawanigosiwin  gijigong;  kishpin  dasli 
agonwetawad,  kawin  o  ga-wabandansin 
kagige  minawanigosiwin,  meshkwat  dash 
ta-kitimagisi,  ta-kithi-kitimagisi,  kaginig 
gaie  ta-kitchi-kitimagisi. 

"Mi  dash  iw  ge-dodameg,  ninidjanis- 
sidog saiagiinagog;  mojag  weweni  bnba- 


his  life  on  earth  is  at  an  end,  his  sonl  will 
live  forever.  But,  our  souls  will  be  there 
forever  well  off  if  we  are  Christians,  and 
if  at  the  same  time  we  live  a  good  life. 
Therefore  keep  well  your  religion  that 
you  may  be  happy  forever  in  heaven, 
after  you  have  been  poor  on  earth.  Never 
mind  another  religion ;  it  is  not  the  right 
one.  Be  thankful  to  God  that  you  were 
given  the  true  religion,  and  always  keep 
it  well.  And  pay  no  attention  to  Indian- 
religion  (Indian  paganism).  It  is  very 
foolish,  God  our  Lord  hates  it  (Indian 
religion).  A  Christian  acts  very  wrong 
and  offends  God  much  if  he  still  minds  or 
resumes  what  he  renounced  when  he  was 
baptized. 


"Keep  well  your  religion,  my  children; 
strive  after  eternal  happiness  in  heaven; 
for  the  Lord  wants  you  to  be  happy  for- 
ever. All  that  God  did  in  making  heaven 
and  earth,  and  sending  his  Son  on  earth, 
he  did  all,  that  hereby  his  name  might  be 
sanctified  and  men  thereby  be  happy.  If 
man  living  on  earth  obeys  God,  he  will 
receive  from  Him  eternal  happiness  in 
heaven,  but  if  he  disobeys  Him,  he  will 
not  see  eternal  happiness,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, he  will  suffer,  he  will  suffer  greatly, 
and  he  will  suffer  greatly  forever. 


"But  this  is  what  you  should  do,  my 
children,  whom  I  love;  always  obey  well 


114 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


mitawig  Debeniminang  Kije-Manito,  do- 
damog  eji-gagikimigoieg,  mi  ima  ge- 
ondji-kitchitwawendameg  Kije-Manito 
od  ijinikasowin  gaie  dash  ki  tchitchago- 
wag  ki  ga-ja\vendagosia\vag.  Jesus  gi- 
ikito;  "Bejigwan  iw  aiapitchi-kitchi-ina- 
badjitong."  Wegonen  dash  iw?  Mi  sa 
tchi  sagiang  weweni  gaie  tchi  anokita- 
vvang  Kije-Manito,  mi  dash  tchi  jawenda- 
gosiangwa  ki  tchitchagonanig.  Kakina 
anokiwin  minik  andagog  aking  kawin  api- 
tendagwassinon  epitendagwak  iw  tchi 
anokitawang  Debeniminang  Kije-Manito, 
mi  dash  ningoting  gijigong  tchi  ijaiang. 
Mi  sa  iw  gwaiak  wendji-aiaiang  aking. 

"Mikwendamog,  ninidjanissidog,  ga- 
dodang  Kije-Manito  tchi  mininang  ka- 
gige  bimadisiwin  gijigong.  Nakawe  sa 
oma  aking  tchi  bimadisiiang  kid  inen- 
■migonan  ki  minigonan  anamiewin,  kitclii 
Jawendagosiwinan,  o  jawendjigewin  gaie; 
tibinawe  Ogwissan  saiagiadjin  o  gi- 
migiwenan  tchi  niboriid  tchibaiatigong, 
mi  sa  tchi  jawendagosiiang  gijigong  kag- 
igigekamig — Geget  Kije-Manito  kitchi 
inendam  tchi  jawendagosiiang,  o  kitchi 
apitendam  ki  jawendagosiwininan.  Og- 
wissan o  pagidinan  tchi  jawendagosiadki 
tchitchagonanin !  Apegish,  ninidjanissi- 
dog, weweni  nissitotameg,  mi  dash  gaie 
Kinawa  tibishko  tchi  apitendameg  ki 
jawendagosiwiniwa,  win  Kije-Manito 
epitendang. 

"Ow  gaie  mikwendamog,  ninidjanissi- 
dog, Kishpin  gashkitamasoieg  kagige 
jawendagosiwin  gijigong,  kinawa  ki-ga- 
jawendagosim,  kinawa  ki  gad-aianawa 
minik  ge-gashkitamasoieg.  Kawin  Kije- 
Manito  nawatch  ta-ondji-jawendagosissi, 
kishpin   kinawa    gijigong   aiaieg;   kawin 


Our  Lord  God,  do  as  you  are  exhorted; 
thereby  you  will  sanctify  the  name  of  God 
and  you  will  make  happy  your  souls. 
Jesus  said:  "But  one  thing  is  necessary." 
But  what  is  that?  It  is  that  we  love  and 
serve  God  well,  and  so  make  happy  our 
souls.  No  occupation  (work)  on  earth  is 
so  important  as  that,  that  we  serve  Our 
Lord  God  and  so  go  one  day  to  heaven. 
That  is  just  for  what  we  are  on  earth. 


"Remember,  my  children,  what  God 
has  done  to  give  us  eternal  life  in  heaven. 
Namely,  first,  he  wants  us  to  live  on 
earth ;  he  gives  us  religion,  the  holy  sacra- 
ments and  his  grace;  he  has  given  even 
his  Son,  whom  he  loves,  to  die  on  the 
cross  in  order  that  we  may  be  happy  in 
heaven  forever.  Truly  God  desires  much 
that  we  be  happy,  he  prizes  highly  our 
happiness.  He  sacrifices  his  Son  to  make 
our  souls  happy!  My  children,  may  you 
well  understand  this,  so  that  you  too  may 
prize  your  happiness  as  God  himself 
prizes  it. 


"This  also  remember,  my  children.  If 
you  obtain  everlasting  happiness  in  heav- 
en, you  yourselves  shall  be  happy,  you 
yourselves  have  all  you  shall  have  gained. 
God  will  not  be  more  happy,  if  you  are  in 
heaven,  and  he  will  not  be  less  happy  it 
you  burn  in  hell.     You  alone  will  have 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


115 


gaie  win  awashime  pangi  ta-jawendag- 
ossissi  kishpin  kinawa  anamakamig  dana- 
kisoieg.  Kinawa  sa  eta  ki  gad-aianawa 
ga-gashkitamasoieg.  Apegish  weweni 
nissitotameg. 

"Ow  dash  gaie  nissitotamog.     Kishpin 
gwaiak  bimadisiieg,  mi  dash  gashkitoieg 
kagige  jawendagesiwin  gijigong,  kakina 
gego    ki    gi-gashkitonawa;    kid    apitchi 
jawendagosim.       Kishpin     dash     matchi 
ijiwebisiieg,  mi  dash  gashkitossiweg  ka- 
gige   minawanigosiwin    gijigong,    kakina 
gego    ki    gi-\vanitona\va,    kakina    ki    gi- 
banadjitonawa;  kawin  bakan  gego  ki  gad- 
ondjiajawendagosissim,   ki  ga-kitchi-kiti- 
magisim  kagigekamig  anamakamig.    Ka- 
win oma  aking  gwaiak  jawendagosiwin 
ningotchi  dagossinon,  gijigong  eta  dago- 
magad.      Kishpin    dash    iw    jawendagos- 
iwin  gijigong   endagog   gashkitamasoss- 
iweg,    mi    tchi    animisiieg    kagigekamig. 
Geget  kashkendagwad !  Anawi  o  kikendan 
bemadisid    wenibik    eta    tchi    aiad    oma 
aking,  o  kikendan  gaie  dagossinog  aking 
gwaiak     jawendagosiwin,     gijigong    eta 
dagomagad.    Gwaiak  o  kikendan  kakina 
iw ;  kawin  dash  o  babamendansin,  mi  dash 
iji   bimadisid   tibishko   enendagosid   oma 
eta  aking  tchi  bimadisid,  tchi  apitchi  ish- 
kwa-aiad   dash   api   nebod   aking.     Kego 
kinawa,    ninidjanissidog,    ijiwebisikegon. 
Nissitotamog      ejiwebak;      nissitotamog 
wendjiaiaieg  aking.    Mi  eta  wendji-aiaieg 
tchi  gashkitamasoieg  kagige  bimadisiwin 
gijigong.     Kishpin  geget  gashkitimasoieg 
ki     gad  -  apitchijawendagosim,     missawa 
kitimagisiieg      aking.         Kishpin       dash 
gashkitamasossiewg,      ki      ga  -  kitchikiti- 
magisim,  missawa  kitchiwawisiieg  aking, 
kitchi      danieeg,      kirclii      mino      aiaieg 
gaie.      Kishpin    awiia    mino    aiad    aking, 
babamendansig      dash       kagige      bima- 


what   you   have  gained.     May  you   well 
understand  this. 


"Understand  also  this.  If  you  live 
justly  and  so  gain  everlasting  happiness 
in  heaven,  you  have  gained  all ;  you  are 
very  happy.  But  if  you  are  bad,  and  so 
do  not  gain  everlasting  happiness  in  heav- 
en, you  have  lost  all,  you  have  ruined  all, 
for  nothing  else  will  you  be  happy  (i.e. 
nothing  else  will  make  you  happy),  you 
will  be  very  miserable  forever  in  hell. 
Real  happiness  is  not  anywhere  here  on 
earth,  it  is  only  in  heaven.  But  if  you  do 
not  gain  the  happiness  that  is  in  heaven, 
you  will  suffer  forever.  It  is  truly  sad. 
Although  a  person  knows  that  he  is  to  be 
only  a  short  time  here  on  earth,  he  knows 
that  real  happiness  is  not  on  earth,  it  is 
only  in  heaven;  he  really  knows  all  that; 
but  he  does  not  mind  it,  and  he  lives  as  if 
he  had  to  live  only  here  on  earth,  and  as 
if  he  would  entirely  cease  to  exist,  when 
he  died  on  earth.  You,  my  children,  do 
you  not  act  so.  Understand  how  it  is; 
understand  for  what  you  are  on  earth. 
Only  for  this  are  you  on  earth,  to  gain 
eternal  happiness  in  heaven.  If  you  really 
gain  it,  you  will  be  very  happy,  even  if 
you  are  poor  on  earth.  But  if  you  do  not 
gain  it,  you  will  be  very  miserable,  even 
if  you  are  honored  on  earth,  rich  and 
well.  If  one  is  well  off  on  earth  but  does 
not  mind  eternal  life  and  does  not  strive 
after  it,  he  will  be  there  the  more  sad  on 
that  account;  for  he  will  think:  Truly  I 
have  been  foolish  whilst  I  lived  on  earth. 
I  loved  only  what  is  on  earth,  only  it  I 
minded.  But  now  I  have  lost  it,  but  in 
place  of  it  I  have  gained  everlasting  suf- 


116 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


disiwin,  wikwatchitamasossig  gaie,  awa- 
shime  win  wedi  ta  -  ondji  -  kashken- 
dam ;  ta-inendam  sa :  Geget  nin  gi-gagi- 
badis  megwa  gi-bimadisiian  aking.  Mi 
eta  aking  endagog  nin  gi-sagiton,  nin 
gibabamendan.  Nongom  dash  nin  gi- 
waniton  i\v,  meshkwat  dash  kagige  kota- 
gitowin  nin  gi-\vik\vatchitamason !  Ape- 
gish,  ninidjanissidog.  weweni  nissitota- 
meg,  apegish  babamendameg ! 


fering!    May  you   well   understand  this, 
my  children,  may  you  heed  it ! 


THIS  VIEW  SHOWS  THE  SITE  OF  THE  ST.  VINCENT  DE 
PAUL  CHURCH  AT  INDIAN  LAKE  NEAR  MANISTIQUE, 
BLESSED  BY  FATHER  BARAGA  ON  AUGUST  Q,  1832.  THE 
SHED  IS  DIRECTLY  OVER  WHERE  THE  SANCTUARY  STOOD. 
IN  FRONT  OF  WHICH  THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  OLD 
CHURCH   ARE   STILL  VISIBLE. 


"Gwaiak  mojag  anokitawig  Kije-Man- 
ito,  wenibik  bimadisiieg  aking;  weweni 
dodamog  eji-minwendang  Debendjijed; 
kakina  debwetamog  enigokodeeieg  minik 
ga-iji-kikinoamonang  Jesus,  gi-bi-aiad 
wenibik  aking;  kego  ganage  bejig  ikito- 
win  webinan-gegon.     Geget  anind  gagik- 


" Always  truly  serve  God,  whilst  you 
are  living  a  short  time  on  earth ;  act  well 
as  the  Lord  likes ;  from  your  whole  heart 
believe  all  that  Jesus  taught  us  when  he 
came  to  be  a  short  time  on  earth;  do  not 
reject  even  one  single  word.  Some 
things,  that  Jesus  has  taught  us,  are  in- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


117 


wewinan  sanagadon,  ga-iji-kikinoamo- 
nang  Jesus;  kawin  ki  da-gashkitossimin 
tchi  nissitotamang,  kishpin  kid  inenda- 
mowininan  eta  aioiang;  osam  jagwadad 
kid  inendamowininan.  Debweiendamowin 
dash  aioda;  songan  kakina  debwenanda 
oma  aking  minik  ga-ikitod  Jesus,  wedi 
dash  gijigong  kakina  mijisha  ki  ga-wa- 
bandamin  ejiwebak.  Kishpin  gego  osam 
sanagak  tchi  nissitotameg,  pabige  inenda- 
mog:  Kawin  nin  nin  nissitotansin  iw, 
kawin  nin  kikendansin  ejiwebak,  win 
dash  Kije-Manito  o  kikendan.  Win  gi- 
ikitod,  mi  wendji-debwetaman  Panima 
dash  gijigong  nin  ga-kikendan  kakina 
gego. 

"Weweni,  nissidjanissidog,  ganawend- 
amog  ki  debweiendam-owiniwa,  ged-ako- 
bimadisiieg,  Kije-Manito  tchi  sagiineg; 
ikito  sa  kitchitwa  Paul ;  kawin  awiia  o  ga- 
sagiigossin  Kije-Maniton,  Kishpin  de- 
bweiendansig.  Jesus  gaie  ikito :  "Aw 
ge-debwetansig  ta-  kagige-  kotagendam 
anamakamig."  Kego  dash  inendangegon, 
pijishig  debweiendamowin  tchi  debisseg, 
ge-ondji-gashkitamassoieg  kagige  bima- 
disiwin  gijigong.  Bakan  ejitwadjig  o 
debwetanawa  iw;  kawin  dash  awansinon. 
Ojibiigade  Kije-Manito  o  masinaigan- 
ing :  Kishpin  debweiendang  eta  awiia, 
mino  dodansig  dash  bekish,  nibomagadini 
o  debweiendamowin,  kawin  ningot  ina- 
badassinini.  Enigokodeeieg  wikwatchitog 
tchi  mino  ganawendameg  ki  debweienda- 
mowiniwa,  kid  anamiewiniwa ;  bekish 
gaie  dodamog  mojag  eji-kikinoamagoieg 
anamiewin.  "Ta-bimadad  ki  debweienda- 
mowiniwa,"  kid  igomin.  Kishpin  sa 
gwaiak  wikwatchitoiang  tchi  iji  bimadi- 
siiang  eji-kikinoamagoiang  anamiewin, 
mi  tchi  bimadak  ki .  debweiendamowini- 
nan.    Bemadak  dash  debweiendamowin  ki 


deed  hard  (to  be  comprehended)  ;  we 
wquld  be  unable  to  comprehend  them,  if 
we  were  to  employ  our  reason  only;  our 
reason  is  too  weak.  But  let  us  use  faith; 
let  us  strongly  believe  here  on  earth  all 
that  Jesus  said ;  there  in  heaven  we  shall 
plainly  see  how  all  things  are.  If  some- 
thing is  too  difficult  for  you  to  under- 
stand, think  immediately :  I  indeed  do  not 
understand,  this,  I  do  not  know  how  it  is, 
but  God,  knows  it.  Because  He -said  it, 
therefore  I  believe.  Afterwards  in  heav- 
en I  shall  know  all. 


"Keep  well,  my  children,  your  faith  as 
lung  as  you  live,  that  God  may  love  you, 
for  St.  Paul  says:  No  one  will  be  loved  by 
God,  if  he  does  not  believe.  And  Jesus 
says:  "He  who  will  not  believe,  shall 
suffer  forever  in  hell."  But  do  not  think 
that  faith  alone  is  sufficient  for  you  to 
gain  eternal  life  in  heaven.  Protestants 
believe  that ;  but  it  is  not  so.  It  is  writ- 
ten in  God's  book  (holy  Bible)  :  if  one 
believes  only,  but  does  not  do  good  at  the 
same  time,  his  faith  is  dead ;  it  is  of  no 
use.  Endeavor  with  all  your  heart  to 
keep  well  your  faith,  your  religion,  and  at 
the  same  time  do  as  your  religion  teaches 
you.  We  are  told :  "Let  your  faith  be 
living."  If  we  truly  try  to  live  as  our 
religion  teaches  us  then  our  faith  is  liv- 
ing. And  a  living  faith  will  give  us  ever- 
lasting life  in  heaven. 


118 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ga-minigomin    kagige   bimadisiwin   giji- 
gong. 

"Kid  iji  gagikimininim  dash,  minid- 
janissidog,  vveweni  ganawendamong  ki 
debweiendamowiniwa,  kid  anamiewin- 
iwa;  ijiwebisig  eji-nondameg  anamic- 
gagikwewin;  ki  gakitchi-jaw-endagosim 
dash  Kije-Manito  od  ogimawiwining. 

"Menindage  dash  gaie  kid  iji  gag- 
ikimininim tchi  anamiaieg  endasso-gij- 
igak  ;  ikito  sa  Debeniminang  Jesus ;  "Mo- 
jag  anamiag,  kego  wika  anijitangegon." 
Mojag  sa,  endasso-gijigak,  kigijeb  on- 
agoshig  gaie  weweni  anamiag ;  nonda- 
gijig  dash  aiapi  mikwenimig  Kije-Manito, 
kego  wika  wanenimakegon.  Kishpin 
awiia  anamiassig  kigijeb,  kawin  gwetch 
ta-mashkawisissi  tchi  miganad  matchi 
maiton.  Mojag  sa  win  matchi  manito  ki 
wi-minigonan  matchi  inendamowin,  tchi 
matchi  inendamang  nitam,  mi  dash  gaie 
tchi  matchi  dodamang.  Kishpin  awiia 
weweni  anamiad,  ta-mashkawendam, 
gwaiak  o  ga-miganan  matchi  maniton, 
kawin  o  gad-odapinamawassin  matchi  in- 
endamowin, kawin  gaie  ta-matchi-dod- 
ansi.  Kishpin  dash  anamiassig.  kawin 
gwetch  ta-mashkawendansi,  waiba  dash 
ta-pagishin  batadowining.  Kego  kitimi- 
kegon  tchi  anamiaieg.  ninidjanissidog; 
mojag  en  dasso-gijigak  anamiag.  bekish 
gaie  nanagatawendamog  ekitoieg  anami- 
aieg. Kinidjanissiwag  gaie  weweni  kik- 
inoamawig  anamiewin.  Kitchi  matchi 
dodam  enamiad  wenidjanissid,  kishpin 
pitimid  tchi  kikinoamawad  onidjanissan 
anamiewin.  Kego  kitimikegon,  ki  gad- 
animisim  dibakonige-gi j  igak. 

"Memindage  dash  emamiegijigakin 
weweni  anamiag ;  kego  anokikegon  iwapi ; 
anamiewigamigong  gaie  pindigeg  dass- 
ing-pandigengin.       Sagitog    apitchi    an- 


"I  exhort  you,  my  children,  keep  well 
your  faith,  your  religion;  live  according 
as  you  hear  religious  preaching;  and  you 
will  be  very  happy  in  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

"And  especially  do  I  exhort  you  to 
pray  every  day,  for  Our  Lord  Jesus  says : 
'Pray  always,  never  give  up.'  Always 
pray  well  every  day,  morning  and  evening, 
occasionally  remember  God  during  the 
day,  do  never  forget  him.  If  a  person 
does  not  pray  in  the  morning,  he  will  not 
be  very  strong  to  fight  the  devil.  For  he, 
the  devil,  wants  to  give  us  a  bad  thought, 
that  we  first  think  evil  and  so  also  then  do 
evil.  If  a  person  prays  well,  he  will 
strongly  resolve,  he  will  really  fight  the 
devil,  he  will  not  take  bad  thought  from 
him,  and  he  will  not  be  bad.  But  if  he 
does  not  pray,  he  will  not  make  strong 
resolutions,  but  soon  fall  into  sin.  Do  not 
be  slothful  in  praying,  my  children;  al- 
ways pray  every  day,  and  at  the  same 
time  reflect  on  what  you  are  saying  when 
praying.  Instruct  well  your  children  in 
religion.  A  Christian  parent  does  very 
bad,  if  he  is  slothful  in  teaching  religion 
to  his  children.  Be  not  slothful ;  you  will 
suffer  for  it  on  judgment  day. 


"Pray  well  especially  on  Sundays;  do 
not  work  then;  and  enter  the  church  as 
often  as  people  enter.  Love  very  much 
the  church,  for  it  is  God's  house  on  earth. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


119 


amiewigamig,  mi  sa  Kije-Manito  o  wigi- 
wam  aking.  Kishpin  awiia  weweni  paia- 
pindigedjin    Kije-Manito   o    wigiwaming 

aking.  ta-pindigana  Kije-Manito  o  wigi- 
waming gijigong  gi-ishkawbimadisid  og- 
idakamig. 

"Ninidjanissidog  saiaginagog,  wew- 
eni gaie  mojag  manadjig  Kije-Manito, 
kitchitwawenimig  gaie  enigokodeeieg. 
Kego  wika  awiia  bemadisid  aking  awa- 
shime  manadjiakegon  eji-manadjieg  Kije- 
Manito.    Awashime  manadjiig,  awasbime 


If  a  person  usually  enters  well  God's 
bouse  on  eartb,  he  will  enter  God's  house 
in  heaven  after  he  has  ended  his  life  on 
earth. 


"My  children,  whom  I  love,  respect 
God  well  and  always,  and  glorify  him 
from  your  whole  heart.  Never  show 
greater  respect  to  any  person  on  eartb 
than  you  show  to  God.  Respect  and  glori- 
fy Our  Lord  God  more  than  all  people  on 


THE  ANCIENT  INDIAN  CEMETARY  AT  INDIAN   LAKE. 


kitchitwawenimig  Debeniminang  Kije- 
Manito.  kakina  dash  bemadisidjig  aking. 
Sasagwana  dasy  iw  ijiwebad,  awiia  awa- 
shime manadjiad  bemadisinidjin  aking. 
Kije-Maniton  dash.  Nanagatawendamog 
mi  dash  tchi  missitotameg.  Kisbkin  sa 
gaganonad  mekatewikwanaien  kawin  ta- 
matchi-gigitossi,  kawin  gaie  ta-winita- 
gosissi,  kawin  sa  gego  maianadadinig  ta- 
ikitossi;  o  manadjian  sa  mekatewik- 
wanaien pesindagodjin.  Kishpin  dash 
bekanisinidjin        wadji  -  gagibadisinidjin 


eartb.  But  it  often  happens  that  a  person 
shows  greater  respect  to  people  on  earth 
than  to  God.  Reflect  that  you  may  un- 
derstand. If  a  person  converses  with  a 
priest,  be  will  not  speak  ill ;  he  will  not 
speak  immodestly;  he  will  not  say  any- 
thing bad ;  for  he  respects  the  priest,  who 
is  listening  to  him.  But  if  he  converses 
with  another,  who  is  his  comrade  in  im- 
purity, he  will  talk  various  foolish,  im- 
modest things.  Understand !  Does  he 
not  respect  more  highly  the  priest  than 


120 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


gaganonad,  anotch  gego  gegibadadinig,  God?  If  he  is  heard  by  the  priest,  he 
beshigwadadinig  ta-ikito.  Nissitotamog !  does  not  talk  bad,  but  if  he  is  not  heard 
Kawin  na  win  awashime  o  manadjiassin     by  him,  although  he  is  heard  by  God,  he 


mekatewikwanaien,  eji-manadjiad  Kije- 
Maniton  ?  Kishpin  mekatewikwanaien 
nondagod,  kawin-matchi  gijwessi;  kish- 
pin dash  nondagossig  anawi  dash  Kije- 
Maniton  nondagod,  anotch  gego  matchi 


talks  all  kinds  of  bad  things.  And  so  he 
really  respects  more  a  person  on  earth 
than  God.  Truly,  he  acts  very  wickedly, 
it  is  very  bad.  Hence,  you  are  told,  my 
children,  respect  God  more  than  all  the 


ikito.  Mi  dash  geget  bemadisinidjin  people  living  on  earth.  What  you  would 
aking  awashime  o  manadjian.  Kije-Mani-  not  say,  what  you  would  not  do  before 
ton  dash.      Geget   kitchi   matchi   dodam,      the   priest,    never   say   it   anywhere   else, 


kitchi  bata-ijiwebad  iw.  Mi  dash  wen- 
dji-igoieg,  ninidjanissidog,  awashime 
manadjig  Kije-Manito,  kakina  dash  be- 
madisidjig  aking.  Minik  ge-wi-ikitossi- 
weg,  ge-widodansiweg  gaie  enassamid 
mekatewikwanaie,  kego  iw  wika  ningot- 
chi  ikitokegon;  misi  sa  aia  Debeniminang 
Kije-Manito;  kaginig  ki  ganawabamigo- 
wa,  ki  pisindagowa  gaie. 

"Kishpin  enamiad  ening:     Eji-manad- 


for  our  Lord  God  is  everywhere;  he  is 
always  looking  at  you,  he  is  always  listen- 
ing to  you. 


"If  a  Christian  is  told :    As  you  respect 


jiad  mekatewikwanaie,  ki  da-iji-manadpia  the  priest  so  should  you  also  respect  God, 

Kije-Manito ;  pabige  da-inendam :     Osam  he   should   immediately   think :   too   little 

pangi  nin  da-manadjia;  kawin  na  Kije-  would  I  respect  God;  is  God  not  more  to 

Manito  awashime  apitendagosissi,  kakina  be  prized   than  all   priests   and   bishops? 

mekatewikwanaieg,      Kitchi  -  mekatewik-  Truly,  he  is  more  to  be  prized,  yet  he  is 

wanaieg  gaie?     Geget  awashime  apiten-  not  respected  as  much  as  the  priest  is  re- 

dagosi,    kawin    dash    ganage    iw    minik  spected.    A  person  would  not  talk  bad  be- 

manadjiassi,  mekatewikwanaie  eji-manad-  fore  a  priest,  but  before  God  he  talks  bad 

jiind  Enassaminid  mekatewikwanaien  ka-  very  much.     It  is  really  sad !     Do  not  act 

win  ta-matchi-ikitossi,   enassaminid  dash  so,  my  children.     Respect  well  and  glorify 

Kije-Maniton    kitchi    nibiwa    ta-matchi-  very  much  Our  Lord  God.     Always  re- 

ikito.       Geget     kashkendagwad !       Kego  member  him;  he  is  everywhere;  he  sees 

ijiwebiskegon,  ninidjanissidog.     Weweni  you  always,  he  hears  you  always.    Do  not 

manadjiig,  apitchi  kitchitwawenmig  De-  act  wickecllv,  for  the  Lord  sees  you;  do 

beniminang    Kije-Manito.      Mojag   mik-  not    talk   wickedly,    for   the    Most    High 


wenimig,  misi  sa  aia ;  kaginig  ki  wabami- 
gowa,  apine  ki  nondagowa.  Kego  matchi 
dodangegon,  ki  wabamigowa  sa  Debend- 
jiged;  kego  matchi  ikitokegon,  ki  nonda- 
gowa sa  Maiamawi-Ishpendagosid. 


hears  you. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


121 


"Weweni  gaie  mojag,  nindjanissidog, 
babamitawig  Kije-Manito.  Apitchi  win 
apitendagosi ;  kakina  gego  win  o  gigiji- 
ton,  kakina  gego  gaie  od  apitchi  dibendan. 
Weweni  babamitawig.  Potch  bemadisin- 
iclgin  aking  tchi  babamitawawad,  inawag 
enamindjig  mi  sa  abinodjiiag  tchi  bab- 
amitawawad onigiigowan,  enonindjig 
dash  tchi  babamitawawad  debenimigo- 
wadjin.  Awashime  dash  kid  iji  gagiki- 
migomin  tchi  babamitawang  Kije-Manito, 
win  sa  kakina  kid  apitchi  dibenimigonan. 

"Kije-Manito  mojag  ki-gaganonigonan 
kideinang,  mojag  ki  gaganonigonan  tchi 
jingendamang  tchi  ojindamang  gaie 
kakina  maianadak,  mashkwat  dash  weni- 
jishing  eta  tchi  dodamang.  Kishpin 
enamiad  wi-matchi-dodang,  pabige  Kije- 
Maniton  o  ga-ganonigon  odeing :  Kego 
dodangen,  manadad.  o'  gad-igon.  Kish- 
pin dash  wi-mino-dodang  enamiad.  pabige 
Kije-Maniton  o  ga-gagansomigon  tchi 
mino  dodang.  Mi  sa  eji-ganoninang 
mojag  Kije-Manito  kideinang.  Ketchi 
jawendagosi  dash  enamiad  pesindawad 
mojag  Kije-Maniton,  eji-gaganonigodjin. 

"Minawa  dash  ki  gaganonigonan  De- 
bendjiged  gagikwewining.  Api  enamiad 
pesindang  anamie-gagikwewin,  gwaiak 
Kije-Maniton  o  pisindawan.  Anawi  ge- 
get  mekatewikwanaie  gagikwe;  tibishki 
dash  gagikwe,  Jesus  Debeniminang  ga-iji- 
gagikwed.  Ikito  gaie  Jesus:  'Kishpin 
awiia  pisindawad  gegikwenidjin,  nin  igo 
nin  pisindog.' 

"Xinidjanissidog  saiagiinagog,  weweni 
babamitawig  mekatewikwanaieg  gegik- 
wedjig;  Kije-Manito  ki  ga-babamitawa- 
wa.  Dassing  gaie  waiebinigeiegon,  we- 
weni odapinamog  minik  egoieg  iwapi, 
weweni  kakina  dodamog,  Kije-Manito 
iwapi  ki  ganonigowa. 


"Always  obey  God  well,  my  children. 
He  is  highly  worthy ;  he  has  created  all 
things  and  to  him  belong  all  things. 
Obey  him  well.  Christians  are  told  to 
obey  even  those  who  are  living  on  earth, 
namely,  children  to  obey  their  parents, 
and  servants  to  obey  their  masters.  Far 
more  are  we  exhorted  to  obey  God,  for 
to  him  we  all  belong  entirely. 


"God  always  speaks  to  us  in  our  hearts; 
he  always  tell  that  we  should  hate  and 
shun  all  that  is  bad,  and  on  the  contrary 
should  do  only  what  is  good.  If  a  Chris- 
tian is  inclined  to  do  bad,  immediately  he 
is  told  bv  God  in  his  heart:  don't  do  that, 
it  is  bad.  thus  he  will  be  told  by  Him. 
But  if  a  Christian  is  inclined  to  do  good, 
immediately  he  will  be  requested  by  God 
to  do  the  good.  It  is  thus  that  God 
always  speaks  to  us  in  our  hearts.  Very 
happy  is  the  Christian  who  always  listens 
ii  i  <  lod  speaking  to  him. 

"Again,  the  Lord  speaks  to  us  in  ser- 
nii  ms.  When  a  Christian  listens  to  a  ser- 
mon, he  really  listens  to  God.  Although 
really  the  priest  preaches,  yet  he  preaches 
so  as  Our  Lord  Jesus  preached.  And 
Jesus  says:  'If  one  listens  to  him  that 
preaches,  he  listens  to  me  myself.' 


"My  children,  whom  I  love,  obey  well 
the  priest's  preaching ;  God  you  will  obey 
And  as  often  as  you  confess,  receive  well 
all  you  are  told  then,  do  all  well,  God 
speaks  to  you  then. 


122 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


"Memindage  dash,  ninidjanissidog,  sa- 
giig  Kije-Manito.  Kishpin  awiia  weweni 
sagiad  Kiije-Manton  kakna  gego  gwaiak 
dodam,  kawin  gego  ondjita  matchi  dod- 
ansi.  Apitchi  dash  gwaiak  kid  igomin 
tchi  sagiang  Debeniminang  Kije-Manito, 
ki  kikinoamagonan  gaie,  Jesus  ged-iji- 
sagiang;  ikito  sa :  "Debendjiged  ki  Kije- 
Manitom  ki  ga-sagia  kakina  kidenig, 
kakina  gaie  ki  tchitchagong,  kakina  gaie 
kid  inendamowining,  kakina  gaie  ki  mash- 
kawisiwining;'  mi  ekitod  Jesus.  Wik- 
watchitog  dash,  ninidjanissidog,  gwaiak 
tchi  sagieg,  eji-kikinoamonang  Jesus. 


"But  especially,  my  children,  love  God. 
If  a  person  loves  God  well,  he  will  do 
everything  right,  he  will  not  do  anything 
bad  purposely.  We  are  very  justly  told 
that  we  should  love  Our  Lord  God,  and 
Jesus  teaches  us  how  we  should  love  him; 
for  he  says:  'The  Lord,  thy  God,  thou 
shalt  love  with  thy  whole  heart,  and  with 
thy  whole  soul,  and  with  thy  whole  mind, 
and  with  all  thy  strength,"  thus  says  Jesus. 
Endeavor,  my  children,  to  love  him  so 
as  Jesus  teaches  us. 


THE  SITE  OF  BARAGA 's  RESIDENCE  AT  INDIAN  LAKE.  THE  HOUSE  EAST 
OF  IT  IS  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  AUGUST  C  MILLER  TO  WHOM  THE 
GROUNDS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MISSION  BELONG  AT  PRESENT. 


"Kakina  kideing  ki  ga-sagia  Kije- 
Manito,  ikito  Jesus.  Kishpin  sa  awiia 
awashime  sagiad  Kije-Maniton  kakina 
dash  aking  endagog,  kakina  gaie  ode  min- 
ad  Kije-Maniton,  mi  aw  saiagiad  kakina 
odeing.  Kishpin  awiia  apitchi  songen- 
dang  tchi  ojindang  batadowin,  awashime 
gaie  minwendang  tchi  nissind,  iw  dash, 
tchi  bata-dodang  ondjita,  mi  aw  saiagiad 


"With  thy  whole  heart  shalt  thou  love 
God,  says  Jesus.  If  a  person  loves  God 
more  than  all  that  is  on  earth,  and  gives 
his  whole  heart  to  God,  such  a  one  loves 
God  with  all  his  heart.  If  one  strongly 
resolves  to  avoid  sin,  and  if  he  should 
rather  wish  to  be  killed  than  do  evil  pur- 
posely, such  a  one  loves  God  with  his 
whole  soul.     And  if  he  always   remembers 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


123 


Kije-Maniton    kakina    o    tchitchagwang. 

Kishpin  gaie  mikwenimad  mojag  Kije- 
Maniton,  tibishko  sa  go  wabamed,  mi 
dash  bekish  inendang :  Kawin  nin  wi- 
matchiikitossi,  kawin  gaie  nin  wi-matchi- 
dodansi,  nin  nondag  sa  Debendjiged,  nin 
wabamig  gaie,  mi  aw  saiagiad  Kije- 
Maniton  kakina  od  inendamowining. 
Kishpin  dash  enamiad  apitchi  mashka- 
wendang  tchi  mino  ijiwebisid;  apegish 
mino  ijiwebisiian,  mojag  nendang,  bekisli 
gaie  geget  ojindang  maianadak  minik 
eji-gaslikitod,  mi  aw  saiagiad  Kije-Mani- 
ton kakina  o  mashkawisiwining. 

"Geget  jawendagosi  gwaiak  saiagiad 
Kije-Maniton  !  Mano  sa,  ninid janissidog, 
mi) jag  wikwatchitog  weweni  tchi  sagieg. 
Epitch  dash  sagieg,  meshkwat  jinendamog 
kakina  batadowinan.  Memindage  webin- 
amog,  jingendamog  gaie  matchi  nimikwe- 
win ;  apitchi  geget  manadad.  Anotch 
bata-ikko,  bata-dodam  gaie  awiia  ga- 
giwashkwebidjin.  Qdjindamog  gaie  ka- 
kina bishigwadisiwin,  gagibadisiwin. 
Gossig  Kije-Manito,  ki  wabamigonan  sa 
mojag. 

"Ninidjahissidog  saiagiinagog,  kakina 
sa  go  maianadak  jingendamog,  eji-jin- 
gendang  Debeniminang  Kije-Manito ;  ka- 
kina dash  meno-ijiewbak  odapinamog, 
minwendamog,  eji-minwendang  Kijie- 
Manito:  ki  ga-jawendagosim  dash  ka- 
gigekamig  Kije-Manito  od  ogimawining 
gijigong.     Mi  ge-ing. 

►I«Frederic, 
Kit  cli  i-Mekatewikwana  is. ' ' 


God,  just  as  if  he  saw  him,  and  so  at  the 
same  time  thinks :  I  will  not  speak  ill  and 
I  will  not  do  evil,  for  the  Lord  hears  and 
sees  me,  such  a  one  loves  God  with  his 
whole  mind.  If  a  Christian  very  strongly 
resolves  to  live  well,  if  he  always  thinks : 
May  I  live  well,  and  at  the  same  time 
really  avoids  what  is  bad  as  much  as  he 
can,  such  a  one  loves  God  with  all  his 
strength. 


"He  indeed  is  happy  who  really  loves 
God!  Well  now,  my  children,  always 
endeavor  to  love  God  well.  But  since  you 
love  him.  hate  on  the  other  hand  all  sins. 
Especially  reject  and  hate  bad  drinking; 
truly  it  is  very  bad.  When  a  person  is 
drunk,  he  talks  and  dues  various  bad 
things.  Hate  also  adultery  and  impurity. 
Fear  God,  for  he  always  sees  us. 


"My  children,  whom  I  love,  hate  all 
that  is  bad,  as  Our  Lord  God  hates  it, 
but  accept,  love  everything  that  is  good, 
as  God  likes ;  and  you  will  be  happy  for- 
ever in  the  kingdom  of  God  in  Heaven. 
Amen. 

•b  Frederic, 
Bishop   (Great  Black-gozvu.)" 


124 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Late  in  November  Bishop  Baraga  left 
New  York,  on  the  U.  S.  M.  S.  Pacific,  for 
Liverpool  and  from  thence  to  Dublin, 
where  he  was  received  by  the  Most  Rever- 
end Archbishop,  Paul  Cullen,  in  the 
friendliest  manner  and  by  the  Archbish- 
op's kind  permission,  adopted  the  Rever- 
end Lawrence  Dunne,  for  his  diocese.  By 
way  of  Holyhead  and  London,  accom- 
panied by  his  first  priest,  Baraga  arrived 
in  Paris,  December  22nd. 

Lodging,  for  Father  Dunne,  until  such 
time  as  the  Bishop  should  be  ready  to  re- 
turn to  America  was  found  at  the  Re- 
trace Ecclesiastique.  Then  the  Bishop 
went  in  quest  for  more  suitable  timber  for 
his  diocese.  At  the  Missions  Etrangercs, 
his  choice  fell  upon  a  young  intellectual 
looking  student,  from  Berlin — Martin 
Fox,  a  young  man  of  promise  and  rare 
abilities.  "Send  him  to  my  room,"  said 
the  Bishop  to  the  rector,  "I  wish  to  talk 
to  him." 

Martin  had  an  interview  with  the 
bishop,  the  outcome  of  which  was  that  he 
offered  himself  for  the  American  mission. 
But  there  was  one  great  drawback — ■ 
Martin  did  not  know  a  word  of  English. 
"You  will  have  to  go  to  Dublin  for  a 
year,"  said  the  Bishop  to  him.  "A  year  in 
Dublin  with  your  ability  ought  to  give, 
you  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English 
language,  and  they  say  that  is  the  place 
to  get  the  genuine  article." 

So  Martin,  after  taking  a  tearful  leave 
of  the  many  friends  he  had  made  in  St. 
Sulpice,  set  out  for  Ireland.  The  rest  of 
the  story  will  be  told  in  his  own  words: 
"I  parted  from  Bishop  Baraga  as  from 
the  best  and  most  indulgent  of  fathers. 
My  own  father  died  when  I  was  very 
young,  and  I  resolved  to  do  my  best  to 


please  a  prelate,   who   inspired  me  with 
such  a  deep  affection. 

"I  had  no  trouble  in  conversing  in 
French  or  German  till  I  got  to  Queens- 
town,  or  to  the  Cove,  as  they  called  it 
then.  From  there  to  Dublin  I  had  to  get 
along  by  signs.  Arrived  at  the  capital, 
I  pointed  out  my  luggage  to  a  cabman, 
pronounced  the  talismanic  word.  'All 
Hallows,'  and  away  we  went  at  a  brisk 
trot  for  the  university.  It  was  raining, 
and  doubtless  the  heavy  atmosphere  in- 
creased still  further  the  miserable  home- 
sick feeling  which  was  fast  growing  on 
me.  As  the  gate  clanged  behind  me,  I 
felt  I  was  shut  out  forever  from  home 
and  friends."  :5 


CASPAR    SCHULTE    THE    SERVANT    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA. 

Bishop  Baraga  continued  his  journey 
to  Mechlin  (Malines),  in  Belgium,  where 
he  was  accorded  by  his  Eminence,  the 
Cardinal  Archbishop,  Engelbert  Sterckx. 


:'  Verwyst,  p.  277. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


125 


a  most  honorable  reception.  Journeying 
through  Germany  lie  visited  Aix  la 
Chapelle,  Cologne,  Duesseldorf,  Cassel, 
Marburg,  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  Darm- 
stadt, Stuttgart,  L'lm,  Augsburg  and 
Munich.  In  the  Bavarian  capital  he  re- 
mained a  few  days,  enjoying  the  hospital- 
ity of  the  Benedictine  Fathers  at  St.  Boni- 
face Convent.  On  the  i8th  of  January 
(1854)  arriving  at  Linz  he  paid  his  re- 
spects to  the  venerable  Bishop  Rudiger, 
and  in  Vienna  was  met  by  his  old  ac- 
quaintance, the  Very  Rev.  Bartholomew 
Widmer,  director  of  the  Augustinaeum, 
afterwards  (i860)  Prince  Bishop  of 
Laibach. 

In  Vienna,  naturally,  his  first  visit 
would  be  to  the  most  venerable  and  Most 
Reverend  Prince  Archbishop,  Vincent 
Edward  Milde,  the  benefactor  of  Bishop 
Baraga,  and  his  missions,  and  whose  name 
should  be  written  in  golden  letters  in  the 
Annals  of  all  the  then  existing  Dioceses 
of  America,  on  account  of  the  generous 
support  which  they  have  all  received  from 
him  and  from  the  Leopoldine  Society 
through  him.  Before  his  benefactor,  as 
the  head  of  the  Leopoldine  Society,  which 
has  done  unaccountable  good  and  relieved 
untold  sufferings  of  missionaries  in 
America,  Baraga  laid  bare  the.  needy  con- 
dition of  his  new  charge,  the  Vicariate 
Apostolic  of  Upper  Michigan,  the  to  be 
Diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette. Not  in  vain,  indeed !  The  mag- 
nificent gifts,  which  Baraga  carried,  re- 
turning to  his  diocese  more  eloquently 
bespeak  the  generosity  of  the  donors  than 
we  are  able  to  depict  with  our  feeble  pen. 

Baraga's  next  visit  was  to  his  native 
land.  He  arrived  in  Laibach,  January 
27th.     Early,  the  following  morning,  at 


five  o'clock  he  stood  in  the  St.  Nicholas' 
Cathedral,  at  the  altar  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, where  thirty  one  years  ago,  Sep- 
tember 22nd,  1823,  he  offered  the  first 
holy  Mass.  Ovations  that  would  have 
made  any  other  man  drunken  with  vain 
glory  greeted  him  everywhere.  Baraga  re- 
mained the  selfsame  poor  ami  humble 
missionary  of  Lake  Superior.  In  the 
parish  church  at  Debernice,  where  he 
was  baptized,  he  said  holy  Mass  on  the 
first  day  of  February  and  "at  the  baptis- 
mal font  I  offered  prayers  of  gratitude  for 
the  infinitely  great  grace  of  my  regenera- 
tion. June  29th,  1797,  in  this  self  same 
font."  4 

He  confirmed  at  Treffen,  on  Candle- 
mas, his  grand-nephew,  Joseph  Frederic 
Gressel.  In  Metlika — February  5th — and 
St.  Martin — February  12th — where  he 
had  been  chaplain  he  pontificated  and 
preached  to  immense  concourses  of  peo- 
ple, who  came,  from  near  and  far,  to 
behold  their,  at  one  time,  so  much  be- 
loved curate. 

Now,  also,  the  long  cherished  op-  * 
portunity  to  visit  Rome  again,  the  centre 
of  Christendom,  presented  itself.  Ac- 
companied by  his  widowed  sister,  Amalia, 
he  embarked  at  Triest  on  a  small  boat  for 
Ancona  in  order  to  visit  the  famous  Lor- 
etto  shrine  on  his  way  to  Rome.  He  ar- 
rived in  Rome  on  the  21st  of  February 
(1854)  and  was  received  in  audience  by 
Pius  IN.  on  the  27th,  and  again  on  the  5th 
of  March.  The  Holy  Father  benignantly 
received  the  missionary  Bishop  and  ac- 
cepted the  gift  of  the  First  Otchipwe 
Indian  Grammar  and  Dictionary. 

Leaving  Rome  on  the  8th  of  March. 
Baraga    arrived    by    way    of    Florence 

4  Diary. 


126 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  Of 


Bologna,  Padua  and  Venice,  again  at 
Laibach,  on  the  16th  of  March.  During 
this  second  sojourn  in  Carniolia  he  held 
Pontifical  Highmass  and  preached  on  the 
Feast  of  St.  Joseph  in  Lack ;  on  the  feast 
of  the  Patrociny  of  St.  Joseph,  March 
25th,  in  the  Franciscan  church  and  the 
following  day,  in  that  of  St.  Peter,  in 
Laibach. 

On  the  28th  of  March  Bishop  Baraga 
bade  adieu  to  his  native  land  and  friends 
and  entered  upon  his  return  trip  to  Ameri- 
ca. In  St.  Andreas,  Carynthia,  he  called 
on  the  Prince  Bishop  Anton  Martin 
Slomsek,  the  Slovenian  Goethe,  and  re- 
ceived on  this  occasion  two  students,  the 
two  brothers  Roesch,  whom  he,  however, 
dismissed  soon  after  arriving  in  New 
York,  on  account  of  being  dissatisfied. 
During  his  stay  in  Gratz  he  accepted  hos- 
pitality of  the  Franciscan  Fathers ;  he 
preached  in  the  Cathedral  on  the  2nd  of 
April. 

He  arrived  in  Vienna  on  the  4th  of 
April  and  found  again  a  hospitable  home 
in  the  Augustinaeum.  As  much  as  he 
desired  to  depart  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, the  forthcoming  marriage  of  the 
Emperor  to  the  Bavarian  Duchess, 
Elizabeth,  detained  him.  "They  tell 
me,"  he  writes,  "it  behooves  that  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  American  church,  which 
has  received  so  many  benefits  from  Aus- 
tria, should  be  present."  5 

With  the  seventy  Prelates,  Cardinals, 
Archbishops  and  Bishops,  Baraga  was 
also  present  at  their  majesties'  marriage, 
in  the  Augustinian  church,  April  24. 
i854. 

On  the  27th  he  was  ready  to  leave  the 


Letter,  to  Msgr.  Novak. 


Austrian  capital.  He  had  received  pres- 
ents from  all  parts  of  the  Empire  and  had 
made  purchases  of  such  church  utensils 
as  he  wished  to  take  along. 

The  Emperor,  Francis  Joseph  I,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  pectoral  cross  and  chain 
and  an  episcopal  ring  set  with  an  amethyst 
of  rare  beauty  encircled  by  an  oval  crown 
of  small  diamonds.  The  stone  is  engraved 
with  the  Holy  Name  of  "Jesus."  He  also 
received  from  the  high  donor  among 
other  things,  two  chalices.  On  the  inside 
of  the  base  is  the  following  inscription : 
Von  Sr.  K.  K.  Apostol.  Majestaet,  Franz 
Joseph  I.,  Kaiser  von  Oesterreich-Aus  der 
K.  K.  Hof  unci  Staats  Druckerei  in  Wien, 
1854.     Both  Chalices  are  in  Roman  style. 

The  humility  of  Bishop  Baraga  would 
not  allow  him  to  wear  so  precious  a  pec- 
toral as  he  had  received  from  the  Sove- 
reign of  Austria,  as  long  as  the  poverty 
of  his  missions  clamored  for  the  gold  and 
precious  stones  in  it.  Pressed  for  money 
and  prompted  by  noble  impulses  he  de- 
cided to  part  with  it.  Before  selling  it, 
however,  he  procured  a  cheap  imitation, 
to  preserve  the  memory  of  the  priceless 
gift.  The  ring  he  retained  and  all  the 
Bishops  of  Marquette,  in  their  succession, 
have  worn  it.  It  adorns  on  festive  occa- 
sions the  hand  of  the  present  Ordinary. 

One  chalice  is  still  at  the  Cathedral  us- 
ually used  only  on  the  occasion  of  a  first 
mass  by  the  Neopresbyters.  The  other 
chalice  was  melted  in  the  Ewen  fire, 
having  been  given  to  Father  Joisten  till 
the  new  mission  of  which  he  was  the  first 
pastor  could  afford  to  buy  its  own 
chalice. 

From  Vienna  Baraga  came  to  Linz  by 
boat,  and  from  there  to  Munich,  by  coach. 
Here  the  king,  Ludwig,  upon  his  express 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


127 


imitation  through  the  Archbishop  'to  send 
the  Indian  Bishop,  when  he  again  comes 
to  Munich,  to  him'  received  him  cordially, 
and  richly  endowed  him  with  presents. 
In  Augsbury  the  Count  von  Taufkirchen 
received  him  in  a  princely  manner.  On 
the  5th  of  May  arriving  again  in  Paris, 
Bishop  Baraga  put  up  "aux  Missions- 
Etrangeres." 

In  Paris  he  remained  two  weeks,  main- 


BISHOP  BARAGA  S  PULPIT,  STILL  IN   USE  IN   ST.    MARY  S 
CHURCH,   SAULT   STE.    MARIE. 

ly  to  await  the  arrival  of  priests  and  cler- 
ics whom  he  had  adopted,  during  his  tra- 
velings in  Europe,  for  his  diocese.  Eight 
priests  had  volunteered  and  promised  to 
come  with  him;  one  Slovenian,  one  Irish, 
two  Carynthians,  one  Swiss,  and  three 
Frenchmen.  Two  of  the  latter,  however, 
being  unable  to  leave  their  parishes,  were 
forced  to  delay  their  departure   for  the 


time  being.  The  six  who  did  come  are 
Reverends  Lawrence  Lautizar,  Lawrence 
Dunne,  Eugene  Jahan,  Timothy  Carie, 
and  two  others,  who  upon  landing  pre- 
ferred to  labor  among  the  whites  and 
they  remained  in  New  York. 

All  of  these,  except  father  Dunne,  em- 
barked at  Antwerp,  Belgium,  on  a  sail 
boat.  Their  voyage  lasted  forty  four  days, 
arriving  in  New  York  July  15th.  With 
them  were  also  three  students,  the  two 
brothers  Roesch  and  Bartholomew  Pierz. 
The  two  Roesch  were  dismissed  as  above 
remarked,  and  young  Pierz  was  sent  to 
the  Cincinnati  seminar}-,  but  what  be- 
came of  him  is  unknown. 

Besides  Martin  Fox  whom  the  Bishop 
had  sent  to  All  Hollows  he  had  also  en- 
gaged two  theologians,  Thiele  and  Benoit. 
They  were  to  come  to  the  Western  States 
upon  completing  their  theological  course. 

Baraga,  accompanied  by  Father  Dunne 
went  via  Brussells,  Malines,  Antwerp  anil 
London  to  Liverpool,  where  they  took  the 
Steamer  Niagara  for  Halifax.  They 
landed  on  the  10th  of  June  having  been 
exactly  ten  days  on  the  water.  From 
Halifax  to  Boston,  and  New  York — 
"where  I  am,  again,  comfortably  housed 
at  the  Redemptorist  Fathers,  third  Street, 

1 53"° 

While     Father     Dunne     continued    his 

journey  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Bishop 
Baraga  turned  his  steps  towards  Wash- 
ington D.  C,  for  a  double  purpose.  First 
he  made  application,  under  act  of  Con- 
gress of  September  26,  1850,  to  the  Com- 
missioner, of  the  General  Land  Office, 
Hon.  Wilson,  for  a  grant  of  the  strip  of 
land  on  which  the  Catholic  mission  is  sit- 
uated at  the  Soo.   Then  he  asked  the  Sec- 


°  Diary. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


retary  of  the  Treasury,  Hon.  James  Guth- 
rie for  a  free  entry  of  church  goods  which 
he  had  brought  from  abroad.  Neither  pe- 
tition was  granted.  With  regard  to  the 
first  he  was  referred  to  the  Land  Agent 
at  the  Soo,  and  for  his  goods  he  had  to 
pay  an  import  tax  of  three  hundred  and 
ten  dollars. — It  seems  to  have  particu- 
larly pained  him  to  pay  the  sum  of  money 
on  the  anniversary  of  his  Preconization. 
June  29th. 

He  arrived  in  Detroit  August  2nd.  and 
had  to  wait  a  whole  week,  for  the  arrival 
of  his  freight  boxes,  but  if  he  has  idled 
away  any  time  during  one  year's  absence 
from  his  missions,  he  seems  to  have  been 
determined  to  make  it  up.  The  activity 
which  he  developed  in  his  new  diocese, 
from  the  moment  he  first  set  foot  upon 
Upper  Michigan  soil,  is  nothing  short  of 
marvelous.  For  those  who  take  pains 
to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  distances 
of  different  places  the  following  extract 
from  Baraga's  diary  must  prove  interest- 
ing.    Our  own  notes  are  in  parenthesis. 

August  10  (1854).  Left  Detroit,  ar- 
rived in  Mackinac  on  the  1  ith. 

14.  Arrived  in  LaCroix — said  Mass 
and  preached  on  the  1 5th. 

16.  Little  Traverse,  said  Mass  and 
preached  on  the  17th. 

18.  Went  to  Sheboygan  and  reached 
Mackinac  at  midnight  of  the  19th. 

20.  in  the  evening  left  Mackinac,  ar- 
rived the  following  morning,  the  21st,  in 
the  Soo,  where  I  received  a  multitude  of 
letters. 

25.  Today  I  leave  for  Lake  Superior 
on  the  Str.  Samuel  Ward. 

27.  At  noon  came  to  La  Pointe.  After- 
noon I  preached  and  announced  Confirm- 
ation.  Every  evening  during  the   whole 


week,  I  gave  instruction  for  Confirmation 
and  heard  confession. 

September  3.  Confirmed  in  La  Pointe 
— almost  one  hundred. 

4.  Arrived  in  Ontonagon.  Confirmed 
twenty  persons  on  the  8th. 

18.  Came  again  to  the  Sault,  where  I 
found  again  a  multitude  of  letters,  good 
and  bad. 

20.  Gave  minor  orders  to  Mr.  Thiele. 
2i.     Left  for  L'Anse.  Str.  A.  Slow. 
25.     Arrived  in  L'Anse. 

October  1.  Confirmed  in  L'Anse,  forty 
three. 

6.  Today  I  left  L'Anse  on  the  Balti- 
more ;  arrived  in  the  evening  of  the  7th  in 
the  Sault.     Letters. 

n.     Ordained  Mr.   Thiele  subdeacon. 

12.  A  memorable  day  for  me  and  the 
Sault  Ste.  Marie.  Today  I  celebrated 
my  first  Pontifical  High  mass  in  the 
Sault;  the  first  one  ever  celebrated  here; 
also  gave,  here,  Confirmation  for  the  first 
time.  Confirmed  eighty-five — French, 
Irish  and  Indian. 

18.     Mr.  Thiele  received  deaconship. 

21.  (Thiele)  ordained  Priest.  (The 
first  priest  ordained  in  and  for  the  dio- 
cese. 

28.  Went  to  Paiment  and  confirmed 
there  forty  four  Indians  and  others. 

November  1.  Anniversary  of  my 
Consecration.  Solemn  Pontifical  High- 
mass. 

3.  Today  Reverend  Father  Thiele 
leaves  for  his  mission  at  Eagle  Harbor. 

17.  Left  Sault  Ste.  Marie  for  Macki- 
nac, where  I  arrived  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  1 8th.  (Mackinac  seems  to  have  been 
badly  in  need  of  repairs,  the  Bishop  re- 
mained there  a  long  time.) 

December  3.     Today  I  have  established 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


129 


iii  the  St.  Anna  church  at  Mackinac,  a 
Confraternity  of  the' Immaculate  Heart 
of  Mary,  for  the  conversion  of  sinners 
and  celebrated  the  first  holy  Mass  on  the 
Altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 

12.  At  last,  the  Reverend  Father 
Sebastian  Duroc  arrived  here  today.  Deo 
gratias!  On  the  13th  I  conducted  him  to 
Point  St.  Ignace. 

20.  I  I  am)  Boarding  with  Mrs. 
Todd. 

January    (  1855).     Writing   the    "Ka- 


the  first  procession  of  the  Societe  de  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul. 

10.  Went  to  Pointe  St.  Ignace  and 
confirmed  there.  Many  Indians  went  to 
confession. 

March  4.  First  Sunday  of  the  month. 
Pontifical  Highmass  on  account  of  the 
general  holy  Communion  of  the  members 
de  la  Societe  de  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  To- 
day I  finished  the  Kagige  Debwewinan — - 
three  hundred  twenty  eight  pages. 

7.     Today   I  commenced,  at  the  sug- 


J^k    *Lj0   ^'%^d 


MARQUETTE   IN    1849. 


gige  Debwewinan"  (Eternal  Truths)  and 
the  days  pass  quickly  and  agreeably. 

13.  This  evening  I  opened,  with 
prayer  and  an  address,  the  meeting  of  the 
Societe  de  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which 
Reverend  Father  Jahan  had  established 
here,  and  I  hope  it  will  do  an  abundance 
of  good. 

February  i.  Still  writing  the  Kagige 
Debwewinan. 

4.     First  Sunday  of  the  month ;  held 


gestion  of  Father  Mrak,  to  translate  the 
Catechism  into  English  for  the  use  of 
schools. 

10.  Went  again  to  Pointe  St.  Ignace 
and  confirmed  eighteen  persons.  The 
nth  being  the  III  Sunday  of  Lent,  I  es- 
tablished the  Societe  de  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul.    God  grant  his  blessing! 

11.  Translation  of  the  Indian  Cate- 
chism finished.     Cui  bono. — Vederemo. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


April  8.  Easter  Sunday.  Pontificated 
pauvrement  with  but  one  priest. 

1 8.  A  sleighride  to  the  Isle  de  Bois 
Blanc.     The  ice  still  firm. 

22.  Preached  the  farewell  sermon  in 
Mackinac. 

2j.  First  boat  'Michigan'  passed 
Mackinac  from  Detroit  to  Greenbay.  Mr. 
Theodore  Wendell  brought  good  news 
with  regard  to  the  continuation  of  the 
Indian  payment. 

29.  Sunday.  Today  arrived  the  first 
Propeller  from  Chicago  going  to  Detroit. 

30.  Another  Propeller,  Xile,  came  to 
Mackinac  today.  On  this  boat  I  went, 
very  comfortably  to  Detroit,  May  2nd, 
where  I  found  my  lost  trunk.  God  be 
praised ! 

May  4.  Left  Detroit,  10  a.  m.  on  the 
Str.  Bay  City.  (Bishop  Baraga  arrived 
in  Cincinnati  the  following  morning  at 
ten  o'clock.  Father  Hammer,  as  usual 
extended  him  hospitality.  While  in  the 
city  he  attended  the  First  Provincial 
Council  of  Cincinnati,  from  May  13th- 
20th,  and  read  the  proof  sheets  of  Kagige 
Debwewinan.  Here  he  engaged  six  male 
school  teachers,  among  whom  was  Tim- 
othy McNamara  for  a  school  at  Traverse 
Bay.  Baraga  returned,  by  way  of  San- 
dusky and  Detroit,  to  the  Sault,  on  the 
24th  of  June). 

June  24.  Preached  in  English  and 
French. 

26.     Arrived  in  Mackinac. 

28.  Cross  Village. 

29.  Arrived  in  Little  Traverse  and 
gave  Confirmation,  July  1st. 

July  3.  Arrived  in  Sheboygan,  and 
the  4th,  heard  confession  all  day. 

5.  Again,  back  to  Little  Traverse. 

6.  At    Abitawaiing,    confessions    all 


day;  on  Sunday,  the  8th,  confirmed  and 
preached. 

9.  Cross  Village. 

10.  Took  us  eight  hours  to  reach  the 
Beaver  Island.  During  three  days'  stay 
heard  confessions  and  on  the  13th,  con- 
firmed forty  four  Indians.  Came  to 
Cross  Village  the  same  day. 

15.  Confirmed,  at  Cross  Village, 
about  twenty. 

16.  Arrived  in  Mackinac. 

17.  Left  Mackinac  on  the  Propeller 
"Stockman." 

18.  Landed  in  Northport  of  the 
Grand  Traverse.  Next  day  left  for 
Pischabetown. 

22.  Confirmed,  in  Grand  Traverse, 
Pischabetown,  thirty  one. 

24.  Arrived  in  Mackinac  and  anx- 
iously awaiting  for  an  opportunity  to  go 
to  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

29.  Malheur eusement — again  a  Sun- 
day. After  a  week's  waiting  the  Illinois 
came. 

30.  Arrived  in  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  A 
multitude  of  letters — good  and  bad. 

31.  Gave  Mr.   Jacker   minores. 
August   1.     Mr.  Jacker  received   Sub- 

deaconship. 

4.  Mr.  Jacker  was  ordained  Deacon. 

5.  (Reverend  E.  Jacker)  ordained 
Priest.  (The  Second  priest  ordained  in 
and  for  the  diocese.) 

8.  Father  Dunne  left  here  for  New 
York. 

9.  Left  on  the  Str.  Illinois. 

10.  Marquette. 

11.  Arrived  in  Eagle  River  and  went 
straight  to  Eagle  Harbor  where  I  read 
Mass  Sunday  the  12th. 

14.     Came  to  L'Anse.  accompanied  by 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


131 


Father  Jacker  and  Mr.  Branen.  On  the 
feast  of  Assumption  said  Mass  and 
preached  in  L'Anse.  (Rev.  E.  Jacker  re- 
mained in  L'Anse.  Mr.  Branen  was  the 
new  school  teacher.) 

1 6.  Left  L'Anse  with  Reverend  C. 
Lemagie. 

17.  Arrived  in  Eagle  Harbor,  now 
awaiting  a  boat  for  La  Pointe. 

18.  On  the  Str.  Northerner  left  for 
La  Pointe;  arrived  on  the  19th. 

23.  Today  Reverend  Monsieur  Carie 
left.  Reverend  Van  Paemel  arrived  to 
take  his  place. 

26.  Confirmed  thirty  seven  at  La 
Pointe. 

September  1.  Mr.  Hickey  (the  school 
teacher)  commenced  to  board  with  Ant. 
Gaudin — Father  Van  Paemel  came  some- 
what later,  but  their  board  bill  goes  on 
from  the  1st. 

4.  4  p.  m.  left  on  the  Northstar  and 
came  in  five  hours  to  Ontonagon. 

5.  Arrived  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning  in  Eagle  River  and  departed, 
overland,  for  L'Anse  where  I  came  at 
noon  of  the  6th. 

10.  Departed  from  L'Anse — overland 
— arrived  in  the  evening  of  the  nth  in 
Eagle  River.  • 

12.  Came  to  Eagle  Harbor.  Did  not 
find  Father  Thiele  here;  he  had  gone  to 
Detroit  September  2nd. 

16.  Sailed  early  in  the  morning  from 
Eagle  Harbor,  on  the  Manhattan. 

17.  Arrived  in  the  Sault.  A  multi- 
tude of  letters. 

18.  Today  I  gave  Mr.  Fox  minor 
orders;  on  the  19th  he  received  subdea- 
conship  and  on  the  21st  Deaconship. 

20.  This  morning  arrived  here  Mr. 
Auguste  Eugene  Benoit. 


23.  Today  Reverend  Martin  Fox  was 
ordained  Priest,  and  left  the  24th  on  the 
Xorthstar  for  Ontonagon;  where  he  will 
celebrate  his  first  holy  Mass.  May  the 
blessing  of  God  be  with  him!  (Father 
Martin  Fox,  was  the  third  priest  or- 
dained in  and  for  the  diocese.)  Today 
gave  to  Mr.  Benoit  subdeaconship. 

29.  (Reverend  A.  E.  Benoit)  or- 
dained deacon. 

30.  (Reverend  A.  E.  Benoit)  was 
ordained  Priest.  He  said  his  first  Mass 
October  2nd.  (The  fourth  Priest  of  the 
Diocese). 

October  1.  Established  here  in  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  the  Arch  confraternity  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Mary. 

12.  In  Marquette  confirmed  thirty 
persons. 

15.  Arrived  in  the  Sault. 

16.  Father  Thiele,  on  his  way  from 
Cincinnati,  left  for  Eagle  Harbor. 

23.  Father  J.  B.  Weikamp  arrived 
here  today  and  promised  to  move  with 
his  Society  to  Little  Traverse  this  fall,  or 
for  a  certainty  next  spring.  N.  B.  Sun- 
da)'  October  21,  it  commenced  to  snow 
most  efficaciously  it  increases  since  then 
dcs  temps  en  temps. 

29.  Snow  all  gone. 

30.  Father  Benoit  left  today  for  La 
Pointe  to  take  from  there  a  boat  to  Fort 
William. 

November  7.  Investing  of  Miss  Mary 
Joseph  Henry  (of  the  Ursuline  Commun- 
ity.) 

9.  Left  Soo  and 

10.  arrived    in    Mackinac. 
14.     Point  St.  Ignace. 

26.  Leave  Pointe  St.  Ignace  for  the 
Isle  de  Ste.  Helene.  Remained  there  the 
whole  day  of  the  27th. 


132 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


28.  Left  in  a  small  boat  for  Tra- 
verse Bay,  where  to  my  great  pleasure  I 
found  Reverend  Father  Weikamp,  who 
had  crossed  there  a  few  days  previous. 

Bishop  Baraga  remained  with  the 
Franciscan  Community,  of  whom  Father 
Weikamp  was  the  superior,  during  the 
Christmas  holydays  (1855).  On  Decem- 
ber 1 8th  he  gave  tonsur  and  minor,  orders 
to  two  of  their  clerics,  Fraters  Ludwig 
and  Seraphin.  On  Christmas  he  con- 
firmed a  class  of  twenty  two. 


,  ic. 


REV.   DOMINIC   DU   RANQUET,  S.   J. 

January  (1856).  From  the  1st  to  6th 
of  January  I  was  in  Jaboiganing,  where  I 
held  first  holy  Communion  on  the  6th 
and  confirmed  four. 

15.  Mr.  Seraphin  Zorn  (O.  S.  F.) 
received  subdeaconship. 


18.     Deaconship   (to  Seraphin  Zorn.) 

20.  Being  the  Septuagesima  Sunday 
Reverend  Seraphin  Zorn  was  ordained 
Priest.  Also  established  the  Society  of 
the  Scapular.  O.  A.  M.  D.  G.  (all  to  the 
greater  glory  of  God.) 

21.  Departed  from  Little  Traverse 
Bay.  In  Cross  Village  I  remained  to  the 
27th. 

28.  From  Cross  Village  Pointe  to 
St.  Ignace. 

29.  From  Pointe  St.  Ignace  to  Bel- 
langer  en  carriole,  .(dog-sleigh).  Over- 
land to  Sault  Ste.  Marie  (it  required  al- 
most three  days  for  the  journey.  Baraga 
arrived  in  the  Soo  February  1st.  The 
extremely  cold  weather,  perhaps  more  so 
the  lack  of  opportunity  to  travel,  forced 
him  to  remain  at  home  until  the  9th  of 
May.  In  the  meanwhile  he  held  an  in- 
vesting at  the  Ursuline  Convent.  Miss 
Doyle  taking  the  veil  of  that  community 
on  February  13th.  Palm  Sunday,  March 
1 6th,  he  had  thirty  receive  first  holy 
Communion  and  confirmed  seventy  adults 
and  children. — )  The  night  of  the  7th 
and  the  8th  day  of  March  were  the  cold- 
est night  and  days  of  the  whole  winter. 

April  29.  Str.  Superior  should  have 
arrived  here  today,  but  w>as  beached  at 
Little  Anibish,  thirty  miles  from  here. 

May  4.  Manhattan  and  Xorthstar  ar- 
rived here  today — the  first  steamers  of 
the  season. 

5.     Str.  Superior  came  in  today. 

9.  (Baraga)   Left  the  Soo. 

10.  Arrived  in  Detroit. 

n.  Forenoon  preached  in  the  Cathe- 
dral and  8  p.  m.  in  St.  Joseph's  church. 

12.  Celebrated  Pontifical  Highmass 
in  St.  Mary's  church  and  confirmed  one 
hundred  and  three  persons. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


133 


13.  Left  Detroit  to  go  by  way  of 
Sandusky  to  Cincinnati. 

14.  Arrived  in  Cincinnati  to  assist  at 
the  Dedication  of  the  St.  Joseph's  church. 

25.  Preached  in  St.  Joseph's  church. 
27.     Arrived  again  in  Cincinnati. 

31.  Now,  the  'Printing'  is  at  an  end. 
(This  explains  the  purpose  of  his  visit  to 
and  his  stay  in  Cincinnati).  Will  remain 
another  week  for  the  sake  of  collecting. 

I  une  1.  Preached  at  10  o'clock  in  the 
Cathedral.  After  the  sermon  a  collection 
was  taken  up — one  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars.— At  S  o'clock  in  the  evening  I 
preached  in  the  Jesuit  church.  The  col- 
lection amounted  to  about  sixty  dollars. 

11.  Departed  from.  Cincinnati,  ac- 
companied by  William  O'Donovan  and 
Timothy  Hegney. 

12.  Came  to  Detroit. 

13.  On  the  Northstar,  at  2:30  p.  m. 
from  Detroit. 

14.  At  5  130  p.  m.  arrived  in  the  Soo. 

26.  Departed  from  Soo  at  6  o'clock 
in  the  morning. 

27.  Arrived  in  Ontonagon  at  1 1 
o'clock.  (The  Diary  does  not  tell  of  the 
business  the  good  Bishop  had  in  Ontona; 
gon  but  it  does  betray  how  anxious  he 
was  for  a  boat  to  come  along  in  order 
to  take  him  away.  "Misere!  he  writes, 
waiting  for  a  boat." 

July  6.  I  took  the  Manhattan  for  La 
Pointe — arrived  on  the  8th. 

9.  (Manhattan)  for  Superior. 

10.  (Manhattan)  for  Grand  Portage. 

11.  Left  on  a  moyenne  berge  (com- 
mon Barge).  After  rainy,  but  otherwise 
happy,  and  fast  enough  voyage,  arrived 
in  Fort  Williams. 

13.  Confirmed  (in  Fort  Williams) 
seventy  seven  persons. 


14.  Accompanied  by  Pere  Du  Ran- 
quet. 

15.  Arrived  in  Grand  Portage. 

20.  Conufirmed  (in  Grand  Portage) 
fifty  three  persons. 

21.  In  a  canoe  to  Superior.  Misere! 
why  not  straight  to  La  Pointe ! 

24.  (Skirting  the  shore  in  a  canoe), 
arrived  in  La  Pointe,  where  I  remained 
four  days  a  guest  of  Francis  Roy. 

2j.  Sunday.  In  Superior,  preached 
five  times,  strongly  recommending  the 
people  to  build  a  church  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. 

28.  Took  the  Manhattan. 

29.  Arrived  in  La  Pointe  and  re- 
ceived a  multitude  of  letters  and  eight 
thousand  four  hundred  francs. 

August  3.  Confirmed  forty  six  in  La 
Pointe. 

7.  Left  La  Pointe  on  the  'Superior'  at 
3  :oo  p.  m.  and  arrived  at  eleven  at  night 
in  Ontonagon. 

10.     Confirmed  twelve  at  Ontonagon. 

12.     Left  for  Alinnesota  Mine. 

17.  Confirmed  twenty  seven  (at  Min- 
nesota Mine.) 

20:     Arrived  at  Norwich  Mine. 

21.  Confirmed  thirty  three,  and  ar- 
rived in  the  Ontonagon  Village  on  the 
25th. 

28.  Left  with  Mr.  Murry  (teacher) 
for  Shaboigan  (Michigan)  school. 

2Q.     Arrived  in  Soo. 

September  4.     Left  the  Soo. 

5.     Arrived  in  Eagle  Harbor. 

7.  Confirmed  fifteen,  (in  Eagle  Har- 
bor.) 

8.  Arrived  in  Fulton  Mine. 

10.  Arrived  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  in  L'Anse. 

14.     Confirmed  eleven  persons. 


134 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


15.  Left  L'Anse  on  the  "General 
Taylor"  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

16.  Arrived  in  Eagle  Harbor  at  six 
in  the  morning. 

20.  Went  to  the  Cliff  Mine,  where  I 
preached — 011  the  2 1  st,  in  three  languages 
and  confirmed  twenty-six  persons. 

22.     Back  again  to  Eagle  Harbor. 
2$.     Confirmed   five  more  this  morn- 
ing. 

24.  Left  Eagle  Harbor,  at  noon,  on 
the    Manhattan. 

25.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening 
arrived  in  the  Soo. 

October  5.  Sunday.  A  queer  and  sad 
day.  Four  Steamers  and  two  schooners 
passed  the  canal. 

17.  Father  Thiele  left  on  his  way  to 
Germany. 

21.  This  forenoon,  at  ten  o'clock,  it 
got  so  dark  that  I  had  to  light  my  lamp 
to  be  able  to  read. 

22.  Pater  Chone  left  on  the  Man- 
hattan. 

30.     Str.   Superior  shipwrecked. 

A\'e  have  purposely  given  the  above 
Diary  which  extends  over  a  period  of 
three  years,  that  an  adequate  idea  may  be 
formed  of  Baraga's  ceaseless  activity, 
which  otherwise  cannot  be  gained  from  a 
summarized  letter.  Now  we  subjoin  his 
letter  in  which  he  recounts  his  pastoral 
labors  during  the  year  1856,  and  let  the 
reader  judge  for  himself.  He  writes : 
"This  year  I  began  my  episcopal  visita- 
tion at  Lake  Superior  on  the  26th  of 
June.  On  this  day  I  set  out  from  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  and  after  a  long  and  tedious 
voyage  I  arrived,  on  the  nth  of  July,  at 
fort  William.  I  was  most  agreeably  sur- 
prised when  I  saw  the  beautiful,  though 


small  church,  which,  under  the  supervis- 
ion of  Father  Chone,  had  been  erected  a 
few  years  ago  in  his  mission.  I  preached 
to  the  Indians,  who  were  highly  delighted 
to  hear  a  bishop  preach  in  their  own  lang- 
uage, a  thing  they  had  never  heard  be- 
fore. On  the  13th  of  July  I  confirmed 
there  seventy-seven  Indians,  large  and 
small ;  for  this  was  the  first  holy  Confirm- 
ation that  was  ever  eiven  there. 


REV.    AUGUST     KOHLER, 


"From  Fort  William  I  went,  accom- 
panied by  Father  Du  Ranquet,  to  Grand 
Portage.  Here  I  preached  several  times 
to  the  Indians  and  confirmed  fifty-three 
of  them  and  this  likewise  was  the  first 
Confirmation  ever  conferred  at  Grand 
Portasre. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


135 


"From  here  I  went  in  a  birch-bark 
canoe  to  the  newly-started  little  city  of 
Superior,  at  Fond  du  Lac  Bay.  There  is 
no  church  here  as  yet,  but  the  zealous 
missionary  Van  Paemel  is  working  hard 
to  have  one  soon.  There  was  no  Con- 
firmation  here  because  Rev.  Van  Paemel 
was  absent.  He  was  busy  in  La  Pointe 
preparing  people  for  Confirmation.  I 
preached,  on  the  27th  of  July,  five  sermons 
at  Superior,  three  in  the  morning  and 
two  in  the  afternoon,  in  English,  French, 
and  Indian.  This  is  one  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  of  our  missionaries  that  they 
have  such  mixed  congregations  that  they 
cannot  satisfy  the  people  with  one  ser- 
mon, but  are  obliged  to  preach  in  two  or 
three  different  languages. 

"From  Fond  du  Lac  (means  Superior) 
I  went  to  La  Pointe,  where  my  first  mis- 
sion at  Lake  Superior  was  located,  which 
I  opened  in  1835.  I  preached  here  sev- 
eral times,  and  on  the  3d  of  August  con- 
firmed forty-six  persons.  In  La  Pointe 
Confirmation  had  been  administered  sev- 
eral times.  Bishop  Rese  confirmed  here 
in  1838.  Bishop  Henni  in  1S44,  and  now 
I  gave  Confirmation  here  for  the  third 
time. 

"From  La  Pointe  I  went  to  Ontonagon. 
I  was  agreeably  surprised  when  I  saw 
the  improvements  which  Rev.  Father 
Dunne  had  made  in  the  church  as  well  as 
in  the  rectory.  On  the  10th  of  August 
I  preached  three  sermons  and  confirmed 
twelve  persons.  From  here  I  went  to  the 
mines,  where  there  are  two  nice  churches, 
which  have  been  erected  this  year  through 
the  generous  contributions  of  the  miners 
and  the  zealous  endeavors  of  Father  Fox. 
On  the  17th  of  August  Confirmation  was 
eiven  for  the  first  time  at  Minnesota  mine 


and  twenty-seven  children  and  adults  re- 
ceived this  holy  sacrament.  On  the  same 
day  the  church  at  Minnesota  was  dedicat- 
ed to  Almighty  God  and  named  St. 
Mary's,  to  the  great  satisfaction  and  joy 
of  the  multitude  who  had  come  there. 

"Thence  I  went  to  another  mine,  called 
the  Norwich,  where  also  a  small  but  neat 
chapel  had  been  built  this  summer.  On 
the  24th  of  August  I  dedicated  this 
church  to  Almighty  God  under  the  name 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  On  the  same 
Sunday  I  confirmed  thirty-three  persons. 
After  these  visitations  I  returned  to  Sault 
Ste  Marie."  7 

Ach!  Es  ist  im  Leben  haesslich  einge- 
richtet, 

Dass  gleich  neben  Rosen  Dornen 
stehen ! s 

These  words  of  Scheffel  °  could  have 
been  well  applied,  if  Baraga  had  ever 
considered  the  mitre  a  thins'  worth  cov- 
eting. If  it  has  brought  him  episcopal 
dignity  and  honors,  it  has  not  spared  him 
with  trouble,  caused  by  priest  and  lay- 
man. Anions'  his  comparatively  small 
flock  and  a  limited  number  of  priests 
there  were  always  some,  who,  by  their 
reprehensible  conduct  made  his  sensitive 
heart  bleed.  November  ist,  1856  was  the 
third  anniversary  of  his  consecration. 
Depression  of  mind  and  body  must  have 
been  great,  that,  mindful  of  the  day  of 
his  own  elevation  to  the  episcopate,  he 
penned  in  his  diary  these  memorable 
wi  irds :  "Today  is  my  third  anniversary 
of  consecration.  A  very  sad  day.  I  would 
almost  sav:  Dies  ille  vertatur  in  tenebras, 


7  Letter    Oct.   1,  1856,  Verwyst. 

8  In  this  life  it  is  so  ill  ordained,  that  just  be- 
side the  roses  thorns  grow. 

'  Trompeter    von    Saeckingen. 


136 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


obscurent  eum  tenebrae  et  umbra  mortis, 
occupet  eum  caligo  et  involvatur  cali- 
gine!"10 

The  closing  of  the  year  1856  was 
crowned  by  the  promulgation  of  his  cele- 
brated "Statuta"  framed  by  himself  in 
Latin  for  the  general  government  of  his 
diocese  and  in  particular  for  a  paternal 
guidance  of  his  priests  in  the  discharge 
of  pastoral  duties.  They  were  printed  in 
Detroit  by  John  Slatter.  November  22nd 
Baraga  sent  copies  to  the  following  Bish- 


ex  Statutis  Primi  Episcopi  Marianopoli- 
tani  et  Marquettensis'  which  are  still  in 
force. 

Baraga  was  not  only  bishop  in  his  dio- 
cese but  also  actual  pastor  of  his  congre- 
gation in  the  Sault.  Although  he  had 
with  him  Pere  Menet,  a  Jesuit  priest,  who 
looked  after  the  parish  during  his  ab- 
sence, he  attended  to  sick-calls  and  other 
parochial  duties  himself.  "This  morn- 
ing Pere  Menet  told  me  that  the  brother 
of  Francois  Grant  had  come  to  call  me 


THE   FIRST   URSULINE  CONVENT   AT   THE   SAULT. 


ops:  J.  M.  Henni  of  Milwaukee;  J.  N. 
Neumann,  Philadelphia;  Joseph  Cretin, 
St.  Paul;  Amadeus  Rappe,  Cleveland; 
Josue  M.  Young.  Erie;  M.  O'Connor, 
Pittsburg;  J.  Carroll,  Baltimore;  J. 
Timon,  Buffalo;  Maurice  De  St.  Palais. 
Vincennes  (now  Indianapolis)  and  Mar- 
tin J.  Spalding,  Louisville.  In  1898 
Bishop  Vertin  prepared  'Aliqua  Excerpta 


10  Let  that  day  be  turned  into  darkness.  Let 
darkness,  and  the  shadow  of  death  cover  it;  let 
a  mist  overspread  it,  and  let  it  be  wrapped  up  in 
bitterness.    Job  III. 


to  his  brother  who  is  very  sick,  and  that 
he  had  said  to  him:  'croyes  vans  que 
I'eveque  ira  chez  voire  frcrc  a  minuitf 
The  young  man  went  away  without  call- 
ing me.  As  soon  as  I  heard  of  this  I  car- 
ried the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  him  and 
gave  him  Extreme  Unction."  "  Here  is 
another  instance,  and  we  could  multiply 
them,  from  his  Dairy,  at  will.  "This 
morning  I  was  called  to  the  other  side  of 
St.  Mary's  river  to  the  old  Labate.     She 


'  Diary,  December   1,   1856. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


137 


is  very  old  and  completely  en  cnfcnce.  I 
gave  her  the  holy  Viaticum  and  also  Ex- 
treme Unction."12 

On  Sundays  and  festival  days  he 
preached  himself,  and  in  three  languages 
at  that,  till  somebody  made  a  remark  to 
him  that  it  tired  the  people  to  listen  to  a 
sermon  which  they  did  not  understand. 
After  that  he  preached  only  in  English 
or  French,  alternately,  but  he  continued 
after  Mass,  the  catechetical  instructions 
in  Indian,  as  he  was  wont  to  do. 

On  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception (  1850)  Baraga  celebrated  a  Pon- 
tifical High  Mass  with  Father  Kohler.  S. 
J.  from  Garden  River,  as  deacon  and 
Brother  Lacoste  as  subdeacon.  This 
Jesuit  brother,  whose  daily  occupation 
was  teaching  school,  was  drawn  into  ser- 
vice of  this  kind  whenever  scarcity  of 
priests  made  itself  felt  on  solemn  occa- 
sions. 

The  new  year  of  1857  came  in  with  a 
new  lot  of  troubles.  If  not  the  most  seri- 
ous, vet  most  annoying,  was  the  deafness 
which  seemed  to  befall  Baraga  from  time 
to  time.  The  relation  between  the  priest 
and  people  of  Mackinac  and  St.  Ignace 
were  not  of  a  friendly  nature.  After 
the  holidays  four  Canadians  arrived  at 
the  Sault  requesting  the  bishop  for  the 
settlement  of  the  difficulty.  What  would 
he  do?  In  the  dead  of  the  winter,  Janu- 
ary 1 2th,  he  accompanied  them  on  snow 
shoes,  to  St.  Ignace.  It  took  three  days 
to  make  the  journey,  staying  over  night 
at  Sobrero's  and  Bellanger's.  On  Macki- 
nac he  preached,  Sunday,  January  iSth, 
on  reconciliation;  equilibrium  was  re- 
stored at  the  cost  of  Father  Carie's  re- 
tirement.    Pere  Carie  withdrew  to  Chi- 

12  Diary,  December   12,   1856 


cago  and  Father  Jahan  succeeded  him. 
On  the  return  trip  the  Bishop  associated 
himself  with  six  Canadians  who  were  on 
their  way  to  the  Sault  and  one  nighr.,21- 
22d  of  January,  he  camped  with  them  in 
the  woods  at  a  temperature  of  40  degrees 
below  zero.  In  face  of  such  terrible  or- 
deals this  fearless  Apostle  quotes  to  him- 
self the  following  beautiful  verse: 
"With  peaceful  mind  thy  race  of  duty  run; 
God  nothing  does  or  suffers  to  be  done 
But  what  thou  wouldst  thyself,  if  thou 

couldst  see 
Through  all  events  of  things  as  well  as 

He."13 

The  report  which  Bishop  Baraga  sent 
to  Rome  of  his  three  years'  administra- 
tion did  not  contain  numerically  many 
missions,  but  it  showed  that  they  weie  of 
a  permanent  character  with  indefinite 
possibilities  of  development  as  well  as  of 
increase  in  number.  The  Holy  Father, 
pleased  with  the  prospects  of  the  new  Vi- 
cariate, raised  it,  on  the  9th  of  January 
1857,  to  the  dignity  of  a  Diocese  and 
gave  Baraga  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Sault 
Ste.  Marie. 

The  Brief  erecting  the  new  Diocese 
reads  thus : 

"For  a  future  remembrance.  Exercis- 
ing, by  the  will  of  God,  the  supreme  office 
of  Apostleship,  We  strive  to  provide  for 
the  good  of  the  Catholic  Religion  every- 
where as  circumstances  and  times  de- 
mand. Since,  We  have  at  other  times  es- 
tablished a  Vicariate  Apostolic  in  the 
Upper  Peninsula  in  the  State  of  Michigan 
within  the  ecclesiastical  Province  of  Cin- 
cinnati in  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  the  Archbishop  and  Bishops  of 
said  Province,  assembled  in  Synod,  well 


13  Diary,  March  7,  1857. 


138 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


satisfied  with  the  ecclesiastical  state  of 
things  in  those  regions,  have  expressed 
the  wish  that  said  district,  where  that 
Vicariate  Apostolic  has  existed,  may  be 
erected,  by  Our  Apostolic  Authority,  into 
a  new  diocese  with  the  Episcopal  See  in 
the  city  commonly  called  Sainte  Marie, 
and  that  from  thence  the  new  diocese  be 
called  Marianopolitana  and  be  assigned 
as  suffragan  to  the  Archbishop  of  Cincin- 


MOTHER     M.      XAVIER,     THE     FIRST     URSULINE 
SISTER     WHO    CAME    TO    THE     SAULT. 

nati.  Then,  after  deliberation  in  this 
matter  with  Our  venerable  Brothers  the 
Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church 
in  charge  of  the  Propagation  of  Faith. 
We  favor  the  resolution  and  dispose  as 
follows  in  this  matter.  Therefore,  by 
Our  own  motive,  from  certain  knowledge 
and  by  advice  of  Our  Councilors,  We,  by 
these   letters,    from   the   fullness   of  Our 


Apostolic  power,  erect  and  establish  the 
district,  where  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of 
Upper  Michigan  has  existed,  into  a  true 
and  proper  diocese  and  ordain  that  the 
Episcopal  See  be  in  the  city  called  Sainte 
.Marie  whence  it  shall  be  named  Maria- 
nopolitana, We  give  and  endow  it  with 
all  the  honors,  privileges,  and  rights 
which  other  Episcopal  churches  have  and 
enjoy  and  We  command  it  to  be  suffra- 
gan to  the  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 
This  We  will  and  constitute  declaring 
these  letters  to  be  and  to  remain  always 
firm,  valid  and  efficacious,  to  have  and  to 
retain  their  full  and  integral  effect  and 
as  such  to  be  inviolably  observed  by  all, 
thus  judged  and  interpreted  by  whatso- 
ever judges,  ordinary  or  extraordinary 
even  Legates  de  Latere  and  Envoys,  the 
right  is  withdrawn  from  them  or  theirs 
whomsoever  otherwise  to  judge  or  inter- 
pret, and  We  declare  null  and  void  what- 
soever is  attempted,  knowingly  or  un- 
knowingly, against  this  be  it  by  whom- 
soever or  whatsoever  authority.  Not- 
withstanding the  regulations  of  Pope 
Benedict  XIV.  Our  predecessor,  super 
Divis.  Matr.  and  other  Apostolic  consti- 
tutions and  ordinances  as  well  as  those 
of  the  aforesaid  Vicariate  be  they  robor- 
ated  by  oath  or  Apostolic  Confirmation 
or  any  other  firmity,  statute,  usuage  or 
anything  else  whatsoever  to  the  contrary. 
Given  in  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's  under  the 
Fisherman's  ring  this  9th  day  of  January 
1857,  the  nth  year  of  our  Pontificate. 
For  The  Lord  Cardinal  Macciii 
Jo.   B.   Brancaleoni-Castellani, 

Substitute. 
At  the  same  time  the  Holy  Father  pro- 
moted Bishop  Baraga  to  be  the  first  Bish- 
op of  Sault  Ste   Marie. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


139 


Pius  IX.  .Pope. 
Venerable  Brother,  Health  and  Apos- 
tolic Benediction.  The  office  of  the  Apos- 
tolate  conferred  upon  Us,  not  through 
Our  own  merits  from  on  high,  by  which 
We  preside  over  the  government  of  all 
churches  by  divine  design,  striving,  with 
the  help  of  the  Lord,  usefully  to  exercise. 
We  are  solicitous  in  Our  heart  and  watch- 
ful, that  when  there  is  a  question  of  corn- 


served  provision  for  all  churches,  that  are 
ur  shall  be  vacant,  to  our  own  appoint- 
ment and  disposition  and  declare  thence- 
forth null  and  void  all  efforts  to  the  con- 
trary, no  matter  by  what  authority, 
whether  knowingly  or  unknowingly 
made.  The  Episcopal  church,  then,  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  in  the  United  States  of 
North  America  having  been  erected  by 
Us   by   similar   Apostolic   letters   of   this 


JOHN     BOUCHE.    BISHOP    BAKAGA  S    GUIDE. 


mitting  the  government  of  churches  \\  e 
endeavor  to  give  them  such  pastors,  as 
know  how  to  teach  people  intrusted  to 
their  care,  not  only  by  word  of  doctrine 
but  also  by  the  example  of  works  and  are 
desirous  and  capable,  under  God,  health- 
fully to  guide  and  happily  to  govern  the 
churches  commissioned  to  them,  in  peace 
and    tranquillity.      Since,    We    have    re- 


very  date,  being  desirous,  with  paternal 
and  solicitous  interest  to  make  a  quick 
and  happy  provision,  in  which  no  one 
could  or  can  interpose  by  decree  or  reser- 
vation contrary  to  this,  after  a  diligent 
deliberation  which  We  have  had,  about 
placing  at  the  head  of  that  same  church 
a  useful  and  fruitful  person,  with  Our 
Venerable  Brothers,  the  Cardinals  of  the 


140 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Holy  Roman  Church,  in  charge  of  the 
Propaganda  Fide,  We  turned  Our  at- 
tention to  you,  who  have  merited  great 
praise  in  holding  the  office  of  the  Vicar 
Apostolic  in  that  same  region.  There- 
fore, Venerable  Brother  by  virtue  of  the 
fnilness  of  Apostolic  power,  We  absolve 
you  from  the  bond  by  which  you  were 
held  to  the  church  of  Amyzonia  as  well 
as  from  any  excommunications,  interdict 
and  other  ecclesiastical  censures,  sen- 
tences or  anything  like  it,  or  for  whatso- 
ever reason,  if  perchance  you  have  in- 
curred any.  and  as  absolved  shall  in  fu- 
ture consider,  by  virtue  of  these  presents 
with  the  advice  of  the  same  Brothers, 
We,  by  Our  Apostolic  authority,  transfer 
you  to  the  aforesaid  church  of  Sainte 
Marie  and  appoint  you  its  bishop  and 
pastor,  fully  committing  to  you  the  care, 
rule,  and  administration  of  said  church  of 
Sainte  Marie,  in  spirituals  and  temporals 
trusting  in  Him,  who  bestoweth  graces 
and  gifts,  that  said  church,  the  Lord 
guiding  your  actions,  will  prosper,  as  well 


in  spirituals  as  in  temporals,  by  your 
watchful  diligence  and  studiousness  that 
it  will  be  directed  unto  prosperity  and 
that  the  orthodox  religion  will  increase. 
Accepting  with  prompt  devotion  the  bur- 
den placed  upon  your  shoulders  you  will 
faithfully  undertake  the  care  and  admin- 
istration and  with  prudence  exercise 
them,  that  the  aforesaid  church  may  be 
truly  entrusted  to  a  prudent  ruler  and  ad- 
ministrator and  that  besides  the  eternal 
retribution,  you  henceforth  fully  merit 
Our  favor  and  blessing  and  that  of  the 
Apostolic  See.  Notwithstanding  the 
Apostolic.  Universal,  Provincial  and 
Synodal  Councils,  general  or  special  con- 
stitutions and  ordinances  and  any  others 
whatsoever  to  the  contrary.  Given  in 
Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  under  the  ring  of 
the  Fisherman,  the  ninth  day  of  January 
1857,  the  eleventh  year  of  our  Pontifi- 
cate. 

V.  Cardinal  Macci-it. 
These    Bulls    reached    Bishop    Baraga 
April  23.  1857. 


Chapter     V . 

Bishop  Baraga's  labors  and  the  growth  of  the  Missions  from  1857  to  1861. 


The  diocese  proper  was  only  the  Upper 
Peninsular  with  the  adjacent  islands. 
The  Indian  missions  scattered  along  the 
northern  shore  of  Lower  Michigan, 
which  he  had  established  himself,  were 
still  close  to  his  heart.  The  Apostolic  ad- 
ministrator of  Detroit,  Bishop  Lefevere, 
had  therefore  no  difficulty  to  persuade 
Baraga  to  take  charge  of  them.  Like- 
wise Bishops  Henni  of  Milwaukee  and 
Cretin  of  St.  Paul  had  ceded  to  him  juris- 
diction over  the  missions  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Superior  in  Wisconsin  and  in  the 
territory  of  Minnesota,  respectively. 
These  missions  entailed  much  care ;  Bara- 
ga not  only  provided  them  with  suitable 
missionaries,  but  visited  them  from  time 
to  time  and  watched  over  their  interest 
as  much  as  if  they  had  been  originally  in- 
corporated to  his  diocese.  Hence,  when 
the  episcopal  burden  pressed  heavily  on 
his  shoulders  he  felt  that  he  could,  at 
least,  spare  himself,  the  trouble  of  those 
missions.  As  Indian  missionary  he  had 
troubles  of  his  own,  that  is  true,  but  now 
as  the  bishop  he  partook  of  those  of 
others.  Then  annoyances  arose  and  al- 
layed themselves,  now  they  persistently 
continued  to  irritate  his  otherwise  placid 
disposition.  He  envied  his  own  former 
tranquillity  of  soul !  No  wonder  then 
that,  when  contrasting  his  calm  mission- 


ary life  with  the  present  one,  as  bishop, 
full  of  agitation,  his  soul  yearned  after 
the  peace  of  the  past,  and  that  thoughts 
of  resignation  commenced  to  run  through 
his  mind.  Only  two  days  before  starting 
out  for  a  visit  to  his  Lower  Michigan 
charges  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  "All  this 
day,  in  particular,  I  entertained  firm  plans 
of  resignation  and  of  returning  to  the 
Indian  missions.  Fiat  voluntas  Tua, 
Domine  Deus!" 

May  26th,  he  set  out  from  the  Sault 
and  arrived  in  Mackinac  the  same  day. 
Here  the  unpleasantness  of '  a  year  ago 
still  echoed  in  his  soul  and  in  St.  Ignace 
he  encountered  fresh  troubles  in  con- 
nection with  the  diocesan  lands.  What 
these  disorders  were  we  are  not  told ;  at 
any  rate  they  had  no  tendency  to  raise 
the  ebbing  spirits  of  the  Bishop.  He  con- 
tinued his  journey  to  Cross  Village  and 
visited,  in  their  turn,  Garden  Island, 
Middle  Village,  Little  Traverse  and 
Grand  Traverse.  Here,  on  the  i"th  of 
June  he  entered  in  his  diary :  "I  firmly  re- 
solved to  resign  either  the  whole  or  at 
least  this  cumbersome  appendix."  This 
was  not  to  be  during  his  time.  His  suc- 
cessor, Bishop  Mrak,  got  rid  of  this 
'cumbersome  appendix'  under  peculiar 
stress,  in  1870. 

We  cannot  wonder  that  Baraga,  a  man 


142 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


schooled  in  hardships,  should  call  his 
lower  Michigan  charge  'cumbersome'.  He 
had  accepted  it  from  the  Administrator 
of  Detroit,  more  from  compassion  for  the 
Indian  and  of  love  for  his  first  field  of 
missionary  activity  than  any  other  mo- 
tive, at  the  time  when  his  own  diocesan 
territory  was  but  sparsely  settled.  But 
now  he  realized  that  it  not  only  demanded 
personal  sacrifice,  but  also  entailed  much 
monetary  expenditures  which  might  have 
been  profitably  invested  for  the  upbuild- 
ing and  maintenance  of  schools  and 
churches  within  his  own  domain.  Mis- 
sionaries, too,  ordained  titulo  missionis 
for  his  own  Vicariate,  might  have  been 
cleaning  his  primeval  forest  of  heathen- 
ism, instead  of  making  arable  the  neigh- 
bor's homestead.  Besides,  frequently  the 
priest's  troubles  became  his  own.  An  in- 
stance of  this  is  Father  YVeikamp's  em- 
broilment with  his  former  bishop  of  Chi- 
cago. The  former  had  built  a  frame 
church,  St.  Francis  Assisium,  90x45,  on 
the  west  side  in  Chicago,  for  the  use  and 
benefit,  as  he  claimed,  of  the  Franciscan 
community,  of  which  he  was  a  member 
and  superior.  Upon  withdrawing  from 
Chicago  he  offered  the  property  for  sale 
and  finding  no  purchasers  he  closed  it  and 
departed  for  Cross  Village,  where  he 
opened  a  new  establishment.  To  this 
rather  brusque  procedure  Bishop  O'Regan 
objected.  Under  date  of  January  23, 
1856,  he  wrote  to  Bishop  Baraga:  "I 
am  told  that  Rev.  Weikamp,  for  many 
years  a  priest  of  this  diocese,  has  been 
received  into  your  diocese.  You  must  be 
aware  that  he  had  no  letter,  no  dimis- 
soriales,  from  me.  his  legitimate  bishop. 
I  have  not  released  him  from  the  obliga- 
tions he  owes  me.     He  did  not  even  ask 


to  be  released  from  them.  He  did  not 
even  comply  with  a  single  duty,  that  a 
good  priest  respects.  He  has  violated  all 
the  statutes  of  the  Church  in  this  country, 
and  all  propriety.  If  such  conduct  is  to 
be  tolerated  it  will  be  difficult  to  govern 
the  Church  in  this  country.  He  built  a 
church,  for  which  he  collected  money  in 
Chicago,  and  I  am  told,  that  he  got  mon- 
ies, for  this  purpose,  from  the  religious 
societies  in  Europe.  This  church  he  now 
retains  and  offers  for  sale,  as  private 
personal  property.  He  has  it  locked  up. 
I  have  withdrawn  it  from  the  use  of  re- 
ligion. This  is  a  large  congregation  with- 
out any  other  place  of  worship.  This 
conduct  we  cannot  allow,  and  I  am  sure, 
Right  Rev.  Bishop,  that  you  will  not 
countenance  this  priest  until  he  restores 
this  property  to  its  legitimate  use  and 
until  he  has  in  his  favor  the  commenda- 
tion of  his  ecclesiastical  superior."  1 

Bishop  Baraga  duly  brought  this  un- 
pleasant matter  to  the  notice  of  Father 
Weikamp  and  now,  on  his  pastoral  visita- 
tion, personally  expostulated  with  him. 
But  the  fact,  that  Father  Weikamp  viewed 
the  object  of  contention  with  as  much 
sense  of  justice  as  the  good  Bishop  of 
Chicago  considered  it  a  plain  steal,  did 
not  cease  to  irritate  the  usual  good  humor 
of  Frederic  Baraga.  June  1st  he  wrote  in 
his  diary:  "Arrived  in  Cross  Village. 
Sadness  on  account  of  Weikamp."  If  it 
required  a  good  deal  to  depress  his  spirits, 
but  little  was  sufficient  to  make  them 
buoyant  again.  In  Garden  Island,  he 
found  the  school  master  O'Doussan  "as 
good  as  a  missionary  particularly  against 
drunkenness"  and  in  Jaboigaming  the 
teacher  "an  honest  and  contented  fellow". 


1  Letter  in  the  diocesan  Archives  of  Marquette. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


143 


Forgetting  troubles  and  expenditures  he 
bought  for  the  latter,  a  school  house  for 
thirty  dollars  for  which  he  was  wont  to 
pay  an  annual  rental  of  fifteen,  thus  add- 
ing another  property  to  the  'appendix.' 

Schools  were  always  close  to  Baraga's 
heart.  With  each  mission  church  had  to 
be  a  school  house,  at  times  one  building 
answering  for  both  purposes.  These 
schools  received  an  annuity  from  the  gov- 
ernment, for  the  reason  that  they  were 
chiefly  attended  by  Indian  children.  On 
account  of  the  frequent  changes  of 
Agents,  Baraga  found  it  difficult  to  get 
this  allowance.  To  collect  the  arrears  of 
1856,  he  went,  July  3rd,  on  the  Adriatic, 
to  Detroit,  where,  after  much  office  run- 
ning, he  collected  the  three  hundred  dol- 
lars coining  to  him.  While  in  Detroit,  he 
blessed  a  bell,  Sunday  July  5th,  for  the  St. 
Philip's  German  church.  Returning  to 
the  Soo,  July  14th  he  brought  along  a 
new  cleric,  John  Paul  Steuger,  to  whom 
he  conferred  the  four  minor  orders  on 
the  19th,  but  dismissed  him  four  weeks 
later  on  account  of  mental  incompetency 
for  higher  orders. 

On  the  20th  of  July,  Baraga  started  out 
for  a  visit  to  his  western  part  of  the  dio- 
cese. Marquette,  La  Pointe,  Ontonagon, 
and  Eagle  Harbor  receiving  in  turn  his 
pastoral  attention.  On  this  occasion  he 
had  brought  to  La  Pointe  Mr.  D.  O'Brien 
and  his  family,  where  that  gentleman  had 
accepted  the  position  of  teacher.  August 
13th  found  him  again  in  the  Sault.  He 
found  at  home  Mr.  Louis  Sifferath,  a  can- 
didate for  holy  Orders.  The  following 
Sunday,  the  feast  of  Assumption,  he  gave 
him  subdeaconship,  on  the  20th,  deacon- 
ship  and  on  the  24th  ordained  him  unto 
priesthood    and    sent   him    the    following 


day  to  Mackinac  Island.  Another  ordina- 
tion took  place  end  of  October,  Patrick 
Bernard  Murray  was  ordained  subdeacon, 
on  the  27th,  deacon  on  the  28th,  and 
presbyter  on  the  31st  of  October.  He 
said  his  first  Mass  in  the  Sault,  November 
7th  (1857). 

In  February,  1858,  Bishop  Baraga  pre- 
pared for  a  trip  to  Cincinnati,  in  order  to 
attend  the  second  Provincial  Council  and 
to  have  some  of  his  new  books  printed. 
He  planned  to  reach,  overland,  Toronto 
and  thence,  by  rail,  Cincinnati.  What  ob- 
ject he  had  in  view  selecting  this  round- 
about way  is  not  apparent.  Evidently  he 
must  have  been  acquainted  with  the  terri- 
tory, he  expected  to  traverse,  because  he 
had  laid  out  his  route  before  starting.  He 
crossed  on  ice  the  St.  Marys  River  on  the 
morning  of  February  12th,  with  Mr. 
Sayer.  They  drove  all  day  till  the  night 
overtook  them  at  the  Bruce  Mine  and 
they  found  comfortable  lodging  at 
Plante's.  They  were  met  here  by  Mr. 
Sayer's  two  sons,  George  and  Edward, 
and  Messrs.  Simpson  and  McTavish. 
The  second  day  Missisagi  was  reached 
and  they  were  all  housed  at  Mr.  Sayer's. 
The  third  day  being  a  Sunday,  at  Baraga's 
request,  the  journey  was  not  continued. 
As  the  Bishop  had  no  opportunity  to  cele- 
brate Mass,  services,  consisting  of  pray- 
ers and  sermons,  were  held.  The  fourth 
day,  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Simpson, 
McTavish  and  Edward  Sayer,  he  drove 
to  LaCloche.  From  here  he  continued  his 
journey  en  carriole  drawn  by  three  dogs 
in  charge  of  Edward  Sayer.  In  the  eve- 
ning they  reached  Jibaonaning.  Post- 
master Johnson  gave  them  comfortable 
quarters,  and  Baraga  said  prayer  in  com- 
mon and  preached  in  the  village  chapel. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


The  fifth  day  Baraga  and  his  dog-driver 
had  the  mail-carrier  for  companion. 
Night  overtook  them  a  short  distance  be- 
yond the  French  River ;  they  all  took  hos- 
pitality in  a  small  Indian  hut.  The  night 
of  the  sixth  day  was  spent  in  an  aban- 
doned mail-carrier's  shanty,  without  door 
or  windows.  Baraga  put  in  the  night  on 
the  dog-sleigh.  On  the  seventh  day  they 
crossed  le  Portage  de  Monsieur  Labatte 
and  arrived  at  night  at  eight  o'clock  in 
Pinatangwishing.     Although  a  priest  was 


Arriving  in  Toronto  next  day  he  departed 
toward  evening  for  Suspension  Bridge 
where  he  stayed  over  night  to  see  the  w<  >n- 
ders  of  Niagara  in  the  morning.  Having 
spent  a  whole  day  in  Buffalo,  he  arrived 
on  the  thirteenth  day  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  in  Cincinnati.  He  took  hos- 
pitality for  the  night  of  Father  Kroeger 
but  went,  next  day.  to  his  old-time  friend 
Father  Hammer. 

His  sojourn  in  Cincinnati,  Baraga  be- 
gan with  the  printing  of  his  three  books, 


bishop  baraga'h  "palace"  built  in  i860. 


stationed  here,  Baraga  put  up  at  Louis 
Corradi's.  Sunday,  the  following  day,  he 
spent  with  Father  Lebandy.  At  eight 
o'clock  he  celebrated,  and  assisted  and 
preached,  French  and  English,  at  ten 
o'clock  Mass.  •  Likewise  he  assisted  at  the 
Vespers  and  returned  to  Corradi's  for  the 
night.  The  morning  of  the  ninth  day  he 
parted  with  his  guide  and  driver  and  left 
on  the  stage  for  Barrie  where  he  arrived 
at  4  p.  m.,  to  his  great  chagrin,  just  in 
time  to  see  the  train  pull  out  for  Toronto. 


the  Katolik  Gagikwe — massinaigan,  Ana- 
mie  missinaigan  and  Anamie  massinai- 
gan. When  proof  sheets  were  coming  too 
slow  he  would  perform  any  priestly  or 
episcopal  function.  He  would  preach  in 
German,  English,  or  in  French  as  the  oc- 
casion might  demand.  In  St.  Mary's 
church  he  confirmed  in  place  of  the  Arch- 
bishop, and  in  the  same  church  he  con- 
ferred all  the  holy  orders  to  two  candi- 
dates at  the  request  of  Bishop  Carrell  of 
Covington.     He  dedicated  the  church  at 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


145 


Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  solemnly  laid  the 
corner  stone  of  a  new  church  on  St. 
John's  Hill,  Covington.  Ky.,  to  which 
ceremony  he  ironically  refers  'that  it  will 
never  happen  in  his  diocese,"  probably,  be- 
cause all  his  churches  were  only  wooden 
structures.  But  in  this  he  did  not  prophesy 
well ;  even  in  his  time  more  than  one 
corner  stone  was  laid  and  by  himself, 
too. 

After  the  second  Provincial  Council 
which  opened  May  2nd  and  lasted  one 
week,  he  did  not  tarry  much  longer  in  the 
city.  Richer  in  experience,  pecuniary  do- 
nations, and  well  stocked  with  Indian 
prayer  books,  he  returned  to  his  diocese, 
arriving  at  Sault,  May  29th. 

He  did  not  stay  at  home  long.  June 
7th  finds  him  out  on  his  way  to  visit  his 
Lower  Michigan  missions.  On  the  13th 
he  blessed  Father  Weikamp's  church  and 
cemetery  at  Cross  Village.  In  Garden 
Island  he  spent  two  days  preaching  to  the 
Indians,  as  he  says  in  the  bitterness  of 
his  heart,  on  the  vice  of  drunkenness  into 
which  they  had  lapsed.  Middle  Village 
and  Little  Traverse  were  visited  and  in 
Shaboigan  he  heard  confession  two  con- 
secutive days  at  such  degree  of  heat  that 
the  candles  on  the  altar  melted.  For  Sun- 
day he  returned  to  Little  Traverse,  the 
Arbre  Croche  of  old.  Father  Sifferath 
had  succeeded  Rev.  Lawrence  Lautizar  in 
this  mission,  because  the  latter  had  fol- 
lowed his  former  pastor,  Francis  Pierz,  to 
Minnesota.  Sifferath  not  being  as  yet  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian  dialect  the 
zealous  Bishop  gave  his  old  parishioners 
an  opportunity  to  approach  the  holy 
sacraments.  All  Saturday  afternoon  and 
till  eleven  o'clock  at  night  he  heard  con- 
fessions.     Sunday  he  delivered  to  them 


two  impassionate  sermons  corroborating 
them  in  the  faith.  In  the  afternoon  he 
again  took  to  the  confessional  where  he 
remained  until  midnight.  The  following 
day,  being  the  feast  of  Saints  Peter  and 
Paul,  he  took  the  boat  for  Grand  Trav- 
erse, where,  after  landing,  he  spent  the 
night  out  doors  'without  being  bothered 
by  mosquitoes'  as  he  remarks.  June 
30th  he  came  to  Eagletown.  Double  in- 
terest drew  him  there.  Besides  the  cus- 
tomary mission  visit,  he  had  with 
Father  Ignatius  Mrak,  the  pastor,  a  stu- 
dent Gerhard  Terhorst,  in  whom  he  placed 
much  hope.  With  them  he  spent  a  whole 
week,  and  confirmed  twenty  persons  Sun- 
dav,  July  4th.  Next,  he  spent  six  days  in 
Northport,  where  he  made  the  acquain- 
tance of  the  cleric,  Patrick  Yenantius 
Mbyce.  Their  acquaintance  ripened  into 
an  invitation  to  Mr.  Moyce  to  join  the 
Bishop's  diocese.  He  subsequently — on 
the  17th — followed  the  Bishop  to  Macki- 
nac and  was  by  him  adopted.  July  1  ith 
Bishop  Baraga  celebrated  Mass  in  Cat- 
head and  preached  in  French  and  Indian, 
twice  in  each  language.  On  the  same  day 
he  left  on  the  Steamer  Troy  for  Mackinac. 
A  week  was  spent  between  the  two  mis- 
sions, Mackinac  and  St.  Ignace,  confirm- 
ing at  the  latter  place,  July  14th,  four, 
and  in  the  former,  four  days  later,  forty- 
five  persons.  Accompanied  by  Mr. 
Moyce,  the  Bishop  returned  to  the  Sault. 
Rev.  P.  V.  Moyce  was  ordained  on 
the  24th  of  July  having  received  the  two 
higher  orders  on  the  two  days  previous. 
He  was  intended  for  one  of  the  northern 
missions.  Anxious  to  place  him  with  the 
people  who  had  no  priest  and,  likely, 
prompted  by  the  opportunity  they  took  the 
Propeller  Northern  Light,  which  was  in 


146 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


port  on  her  upward  trip,  the  same  after- 
noon of  the  ordination.  But  before  they 
readied  the  head  of  the  canal,  the  Bishop 
regretted  his  action  on  account  of  it  being 
the  last  day  of  the  week.  They  got  off 
again  and  Father  Moyce  said  his  first 
Alass  in  the  Cathedral,  the  following 
morning  July  25th.  Four  days  later  they 
sailed  on  the  City  of  Cleveland  for  La 
Pointe,  Wisconsin.  An  unexpected  delay 
of  two  days  was  caused  at  Ontonagon,  on 
account  of  the  boat  not  going  any  farther. 
The  Iron  City  helped  them  out  of  this 
difficult)',  only  to  inconvenience  them  a 
little  more  by  stopping  at  La  Pointe  only 
on  her  return  trip  from  Superior.  The 
inevitable  had  to  be  met.  The  Bishop 
consoled  himself  with  the  expectation  of 
being  able  to  visit  Father  Van  Paemel's 
station,  but  upon  arriving  in  Superior 
found  him  absent.  Finally,  La  Pointe 
was  reached.  The  isolated  place  did  not 
appeal  to  Father  Moyce  and  he  refused  to 
stay  there.  They  proceeded  to  Ontona- 
gon where  Father  Moyce  was  at  last  dis- 
posed of,  upon  a  guaranteed  salary  of  two 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  The  Bishop  re- 
turned to  Superior  on  the  North  Star. 
There  he  preached,  Sunday,  August  15th, 
in  English,  French  and  Indian  and  con- 
firmed twenty-six  persons.  He  also  had 
there  reprinted  two  pages  of  his  recent 
Indian  books  because  they  contained  too 
many  typographical  mistakes.  From 
Superior  he  sailed  directly  to  the  Sault. 

On  September  1st,  the  Bishop  was 
again  passenger  on  the  North  Star.  She 
landed  in  the  Entry  late  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  second  of  September,  but  did  not 
go  into  L'Anse.  Bishop  Baraga  there- 
fore walked  to  the  Mission.  Although 
he  had  arrived  late  in  the  night,  he  was  out 


next  morning  on  his  way  to  Portage 
Lake,  the  Houghton  of  today.  Father 
Jacker,  who  looked  after  the  spiritual 
wants  of  these  people,  accompanied  him. 
They  found  a  hospitable  home  at  Michael 
Finnegan's.  Next  day,  being  Sunday, 
September  5th,  services  were  held  in  the 
school  house  which  stood  diagonally 
across  from  the  old,  at  that  time  to  be 
built,  St.  Ignatius  Church.  The  Bishop 
addressed  the  assembled  people  in  Eng- 
lish, French  and  German.  Twelve  persons 
whom  Father  Jacker  had  instructed,  were 
confirmed.  After  the  servicers  a  general 
meeting  was  held.  The  Bishop  expounded 
upon  the  necessity  of  a  church,  and  to  en- 
courage them  in  the  enterprise  he  started 
the  subscription  list  with  twenty  dollars. 
Mr.  Michael  Finnegan  was  appointed 
chief  collector.  The  facsimile  of  the  docu- 
ment drawn  to  this  effect  is  to  be  seen 
elsewhere  in  this  history. 

From  Portage  Lake  Baraga  went  back- 
to  LAnse.  It  seemed  like  home.  Recol- 
lections of  the  past  made  him  live  the  life 
of  his  former  activity  over  again.  This 
brought  him  happiness.  -Concerning  this 
visit  he  writes:  "Some  of  my  most  con- 
soling  reminiscences  are  connected  with 
this  mission.  When  I  enter  the  small,  un- 
pretentious room,  which  the  zealous  mis- 
sionary, Edward  Jacker,  now  occupies, 
I  remember  the  many  consolations  and 
spiritual  emotions  I  enjoyed  here,  when 
I  saw  how  a  band  of  Indians,  steeped  in 
the  vice  of  drunkenness,  had  been  changed 
into  a  congregation  of  fervent  Chris- 
tians through  the  powerful  and  beneficent 
influence  of  the  holy  word  of  the  cross, 
which  God  in  His  unfathomable  mercy 
caused  to  be  preached  to  them  in  their 
own  expressive  language.     In  this  little 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


147 


room,  too.  I  have  labored  much  for  In- 
dian literature.  It  was  here  I  composed 
the  Indian  Grammar  and  Dictionary  and 
another  comprehensive  work  for  our  mis- 
sions." Baraga  spent  a  week  in  L' Arise. 
He  confirmed,  September  12th,  thirty 
Indians.  2 

Early    in    the    morning   of    September 


SARGEANT  GALLEY,  WHO  FIRED  THE  SALUTE 
OF  WELCOME  FROM  FORT  BRADY  UPON  THE 
ARRIVAL  OF  BISHOP  BARAGA  TO  THE 
SAULT. 

1 3th  he  walked  down  to  the  Entry  to  meet 
the  North  Star  on  her  way  to  Ontonagon. 
In  this  place  he  spent  a  week  with  Father 
Moyce,  and  confirmed  on  Sunday  nine 
persons.  To  Minnesota  Mine,  the  present 
Rockland,  he  went  by  a  river  boat.  Father 
Fox  was  just  then  engaged  in  building 
a  new,   spacious  church   in  the  so-called 


-  Letter.  Wahrheits  Freund.  October  24,   li 
Verwvst. 


Irish  Hollow.  The  mutual  friendly  re- 
lation between  the  two  made  their  meet- 
ing a  veritable  happiness.  Father  Fox 
loved  and  revered  his  Bishop,  and  Baraga 
appreciated  the  self-sacrifice  of  Father 
Fox,  who  was  every  inch  a  true  priest. 
Although  the  new  church  was  still  un- 
finished the  bishop  celebrated  Mass  in  it 
Sunday,  September  26th,  preached  in 
three  languages  and  gave  confirmation  to 
thirty  persons.  In  the  above  quoted  letter 
to  the  Wahrheits  Freund,  Baraga  refers 
to  this  visit  as  follows:  "Another  mis- 
sion station  which  gives  me  much  con- 
solation and  spiritual  joy  is  the  mining 
station  Minnesota.  Here  and  in  the 
surrounding  mines  is  the  largest  congre- 
gation of  Catholics  in  the  whole  diocese; 
Irish,  Canadians,  or  French  from  Canada, 
and  especially  many  Germans.  Here  Rev. 
Martin  Fox,  a  Prussian,  works  and  labors 
with  untiring  zeal  and  wonderful  perse- 
verance. He  is  the  builder  of  three 
churches,  two  of  which  are  remarkably 
beautiful  and  spacious.  They  are  it  is 
true  built  of  wood,  but  inside  they  are 
plastered  and  they  appear  as  if  they  had 
been  constructed  of  solid  masonry.  The 
architectural  style  of  these  churches  is  so 
fine  and  symmetrical  that  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  look  at  them.  The  persevering  zeal 
with  which  Rev.  Father  Fox  labors,  not 
only  in  building  churches,  but  also  in  at- 
tending to  his  various  missions,  deserves 
great  praise.  Although  he  is  a  German, 
he  speaks  and  preaches  very  fluently  in 
English  and  French,  and  he  is  as  much 
beloved  by  the  French  and  Irish  as  by 
the  Germans." 

From  the  Minnesota  Mine  Bishop 
Baraga  walked  to  Maplegrove,  or  Green- 
land of  now-a-days.     The  home  of  the 


148 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Flannigans  opened  its  hospitable  door  to 
him.  It  was  only  a  small  log  cabin  but 
the  people  who  lived  in  it  ennobled  it  far 
above  residences  of  modern  demand. 
James  Flannigan  and  his  wife,  Ellen,  to- 
gether with  their  children,  lived  in  the 
small  log  house  blessed  with  true  Chris- 
tian happiness.  Whenever  the  bent  and 
withered  form  of  the  saintly  Bishop  ap- 
peared in  their  door  his  visit  only  in- 
creased their  happiness.  She,  like  a 
Martha  of  old,  hastened  to  serve  to  the 
small  and  few  wants  of  the  exalted  guest, 
while  from  under  the  heavy  brows  of  the 
sturdy  captain  gleamed  a  kindlier  light 
than  usual.  We  regret  not  being  able  to 
give  the  good  lady's  photo,. none  having 
ever  been  taken. 

On  the  lot  adjoining  Flannigan's  home 
stood  the*  church  .the  same  as  it  stands 
there  today.  There  Bishop  Baraga 
preached  in  several  languages  and  con- 
firmed, Sunday,  October  3rd,  fifteen 
persons. 

From  Greenland  Baraga  returned  by 
stage  to  Ontonangon  and  the  same  day, 
October  5th,  took  passage  on  the  North- 
ern Light  for  Eagle  Harbor.  Father 
Thiele's  missions  were  numerous,  two 
weeks  were  profitably  spent  among  them. 
In  Cliff  a  contract  was  given  to  Nicholas 
Grasser  for  the  erection  of  the  new  church 
for  a  consideration  of  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  Referring  to 
this  trip  Baraga  writes:  "I  next  (after 
leaving  Maplegrove)  visited  another  min- 
ing station,  where  another  German  priest, 
Rev.  Louis  Thiele,  labors  with  unflagg- 
ing zeal  in  word  and  deed.  He  has 
several  missions  to  attend,  of  which  the 
most  important  are  called  Cliff  Mine  and 
Eagle  Harbor.     He  always  preached  in 


three  languages,  English,  French,  and 
German,  because  the  people  of  his  mission 
belong  to  those  three  nationalities.  Father 
Thiele  is  busily  engaged  erecting  two 
churches.  The  first  one  at  Eagle  Harbor 
is  large  and  very  beautiful,  and  as  an  ad- 
dition to  the  church,  a  fine  and  comfort- 
able house  for  the  missionary  is  being 
built.  He  had  great  trouble  building 
such  a  beautiful  and  large  church  with  the 
scanty  means  at  his  disposal.  May  God 
reward  him  in  eternity!  Father  Thiele 
also  exerts  himself  very  much  in  con- 
verting Protestants.  When  I  was  at  his 
place  he  baptized  four  more  Protestants, 
English-speaking  persons,  whom  he  had 
previously  instructed  properly,  and  sol- 
emnly received  into  the  Church  of  God.  3 
Just  about  this  time  the  affairs  of  the 
Ontonagon  parish  were  not  running  as 
smoothly  as  might  be  desired.  Sufficient 
support  for  the  missionary  was  not  forth- 
coming, so  that  the  Bishop  was  com- 
pelled to  reach  into  his  own  pocket  for  the 
deficiency.  More  so.  as  he  had  stationed 
Father  Moyce  upon  an  agreed  salary. 
Besides  the  reverend  gentleman  did  not 
conceal  his  apathy  towards  the  place. 
These  things  caused  the  Bishop  great 
worry.  Instead  of  taking  a  boat  from 
Eagle  Harbor  for  the  Sault,  as  he  had  in- 
tended, led  by  intuition,  he  went  back  to 
Ontonagon.  His  surmise  proved  true. 
Father  Moyce  had  left  his  post  with  bag 
and  baggage !  Naturally  this  desertion  of 
his  last-ordained  wounded  the  feelings  of 
the  Bishop.  Extending  a  call  of  a  few 
hours  to  Father  Duroc  in  Marquette,  on 
his  way  home,  he  arrived  in  the  Sault  on 
the  2 1  st  of  October.  Father  Moyce  was 
there.     His  unperturbed  mien  still  more 

3  Verwyst. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


149 


vexed  the  Bishop  and  lie  wrote  him  at 
once  the  dimissoriales.  He  left  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  and  finished  his  days  in  Massa- 
chusetts. 

If  anything  might  have  raised  the 
spirits  of  the  old  and  worn  Bishop  at  the 
approach  of  his  anniversary  of  consecra- 
tion, a  check  of  six  hundred  and  nine  dol- 
lars which  he  received  from  Munich 
might  have  been  of  some  effect  in  tin  ise 
needy  days.  But,  November  ist,  1858, 
he  enters  in  his  journal : 

"My  fifth  anniversary!  Sad!  The 
past  saddens  me,  the  present  torments  me. 
the  future  frightens  me!.  I  would  in- 
finitely prefer  to  be  an  Indian  mission- 
ary !"  At  the  same  time  he  consoles  him- 
self with  the  reflection: 
"Look  not  mournfully   into  the  past,   it 

cannot  return ; 
Wisely  improve  the  present,  it  is  thine; 
Go    forth   to   meet   the   shadowy    future, 

without  fear 
And  with  a  manly  heart." 

The  year  1859  Bishop  Baraga  com- 
menced with  a  strong  appeal  for  temper- 
ance. The  New  Year  gave  him  the  oc- 
casion. Many  perverted  the  time  hi  m- 
ored  celebration  of  the  jour  de  fan  into 
revelry,  coupled  with  drunkenness.  A 
warning  against  the  ravages  of  this  vice 
and  a  hearty  encouragement  to  take  the 
pledge  was  the  subject  of  his  discourse. 
He  expected  that  at  least  some  would  be 
touched  and  come  to  take  the  pledge. 
Not  one  came !  Three  weeks  later,  re- 
flecting upon  this  vain  endeavor,  he  wrote 
in  his  journal:  "Perversi  difficile  cor- 
riguntur,  et  stultorum  infinitus  est  Hume- 
rus." 4     We  have  traced  Barasra  through 


his  missionary  career  and  know  how  much 
he  hated  inebriety.  We  can  therefore  im- 
agine the  greatness  of  his  disappoint- 
ment. 

The  fruitless  appeal  to  his  parishioners 
still  echoed  through  his  soul,  when  God 
sent  a  small  consolation  to  his  servant. 


*  It  is  difficult  to  correct  the  perverse,  and  the 
number  of  the  foolish  is  infinite. 


REV.  G.  B.  WEIKAMP.  A  NATIVE  OF  BOCHOLT, 
WESTPHALIA,  GERMANY.  CAME  TO  CHI- 
CAGO IN  1850;  ESTABLISHED  ST.  FRANCIS 
CHURCH.  CAME  TO  MICHIGAN  IN  1855. 
FOUNDED  THE  INDIAN  MISSION  AT  CROSS 
VILLAGE,  AND  DIED  THERE  AS  SUPERIOR 
OF    THAT     MISSION,    MARCH     19,     1889. 


The  dark  clouds  of  his  absolute  poverty 
for  a  moment  parted, — Baraga  received 
a  draft  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  and 
sixty  francs  from  a  French  society  for 
the  propagation  of  Faith.  How  much 
sooner    he    would    have    dealt    out    the 


150 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


pledges  than  signed  la  traite  which  con- 
veyed him  the  money,  God  alone  knows! 
Even  this  material  consolation  was  not 
permitted  to  remain  unalloyed.  On  Feb- 
ruary ist,  the  postman  brought  him  a 
letter  from  Father  Pierz  in  which  the 
latter  announced  the  untimely  demise  of 
his  companion,  Father  Lautizar.  In  the 
night  of  the  foregoing  December  3rd,  the 
good  priest  had  frozen  to  death  on  the 
Red  Lake,  Minnesota.  Lautizar  was  one 
of  the  six  priests  who  had  come  to  this 
country  with  Bishop  Baraga  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1854.  He  was  an  exemplary 
priest  and  most  dear  to  Baraga,  and  per- 
haps more  so  because  he  had  espoused  the 
conversion  of  the  Indian  so  fervently. 
His  tragic  end  was,  therefore,  sincerely 
bewailed  by  his  countryman  and  bishop. 
February  17th  Bishop  Baraga  received 
a  draft  for  four  hundred  and  twenty 
florins ;  three  hundred  were  from  his  sis- 
ter Amelia,  and  Canon  Novak,  a  long 
time  friend,  had  added  one  hundred  and 
twenty. 

This    life    is    all    checker'd    with    pleasures    and 

woes, 
That  chase  one  another  like  waves  of  the  deep, — 
Each  brightly  or  darkly,  as  onward  it  flows, 
Reflecting  our  eyes,  as  they  sparkle  or  weep. 
So  closely  our  whims  on  our  miseries  tread, 
That  the  laugh  is  awakened  ere  that  tears  can  be 

dried.6 

The  spring  of  1859  was  late.  All 
during  March  and  April  snow  storms 
raged  as  if  to  avenge  themselves  for  the 
mild  preceding  winter.  During  this 
winter,  Baraga's  health  weakened  for  the 
first  time.  In  March  he  was  laid  up  with 
rheumatism  and  was  unable  to  say  Mass 
for  several  days.  May  3rd  the  first  boats 
arrived  in  the  Sault,  and  twelve  days  later 
Baraga,  though  not  completely  restored 


to  health,  started  out  on  his  season's  visi- 
tations through  the  diocese.  The  interest- 
ing account  of  these  trips  written  by  him- 
self to  the  Leopoldine  Society  under  date 
of  June  -3rd,  we  give  in  full,  supplement- 
ing it  by  extracts  from  his  diary. 

"A  few  days  ago  I  returned  from  a 
missionary  visitation  and  I  hasten  to 
send  a  short  account  thereof.  I  came 
back  from  this  journey  half  sick  and  ex- 
hausted, for  this  trip  through  all  our  Ot- 
tawa missions  is  full  of  hardships.  On 
these  missions  one  has  to  go  either  on 
foot  from  station  to  station  or  travel  in 
a  small  canoe  on  the  stormy  Lake  Michi- 
gan. Such  canoe  voyages  would  be  still 
more  dangerous  were  it  not  that  the  In- 
dians are  so  skillful  in  the  management 
of  their  canoes.  On  these  journeys  one 
must  sometimes  pass  the  night  on  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  the  nights  this 
spring  were  very  cold. 

"This  spring  I  departed  at  the  earliest 
opportunity  I  could  find  for  Mackinac  and 
St.  Ignace 8  in  order  to  begin  my  visi- 
tation. This  opportunity,  however,  did 
not  present  itself  before  the  1 5th  of  May, 
because  the  ice  remained  in  our  St. 
Mary's  river  very  late.  When  I  arrived 
at  those  two  mission  stations,  the  people 
there,  who  depend  principally  upon  fish- 
ing for  their  living,  were  already  gone  to 
their  spring  fishing.  These  poor  people 
are  employed  by  the  whites.  Their  em- 
ployers furnish  them  with  empty  fish- 
kegs,  nets,  and  salt  and  pay  them  from 
four  to  five  dollars  for  every  keg  of  fish 
they  fill  and  salt  down.  Among  fishermen 
are  many  adults,  who  have  not  yet  been 
confirmed,  because  they  are  never  at  hand 
when   the  bishop   comes.      The  mission- 


Moore. 


"On  Str.  Lady  Elgin. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


151 


aries,  therefore,  told  me  that  I  should 
come  in  winter  in  order  to  find  them  at 
home.  Hence  I  shall  be  obliged  to  make 
a  journey  on  foot,  with  snow-shoes,  from 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  Mackinac  and  St. 
Ignace  in  the  first  days  of  February,  i860. 

"These  winter  journeys  I  find  some- 
what difficult  now,  for  in  the  first  place 
I  am  become  unaccustomed  to  them,  and 
secondly  on  account  of  my  age,  for  by 
next  February,  if  I  live,  1  shall  be  in  my 
sixty-third  year.  At  that  age,  especially 
if  one  has  in  former  years  suffered  hard- 
ships, he  is  already  a  little  stiff  and  feels 
the  cold.  Walking  during  the  day  goes 
tolerably  well,  but  when  obliged  to  camp 
out  in  the  open  air  at  night  in  the  woods, 
is  extremely  uncomfortable  in  this  north- 
ern climate.  Tiresome  walking  on  snow- 
shoes  over  hills  and  through  valleys  causes 
perspiration,  notwithstanding  the  cold.  In 
the  evening  I  soon  feel  cold  and  begin  to 
tremble  as  if  I  had  the  fever.  If  I  could 
arrive  at  some  house  every  evening  on 
these  winter  journeys,  traveling  would 
not  be  so  hard,  but  in  this  desolate 
country  a  man  has  often  to  walk  several 
days  before  seeing  a  single  house.  Such 
is  the  lot  of  a  missionary  bishop,  although 
I  do  not  find  it  so  hard,  as  I  have  been  a 
missionary  in  this  country  for  so  many 
years.  The  only  thing  that  weighs  on  me 
is  my  advanced  age. 

"From  the  mission  St.  Ignace  I  went 
in  a  birch-canoe  to  the  Indian  village, 
Cross  Village,  where  a  noble  German 
missionary  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  Rev.  Seraphin  Zorn,  labors  zeal-# 
ously  among  the  Indians  for  the  honor  of 
God  and  their  salvation.  He  has  learned 
the  Indian  language  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.     Mackinac  and  St.  Ignace  are 


mixed  missions.  In  these  two  places  there 
are  Indians,  half-breeds,  Canadian 
French,  and  Irish,  but  in  Cross-Village  all 
are  Indians. 

"As  soon  as  they  saw  the  canoe  coming 
from  afar,  they  rang  the  church  bell  and 
all  assembled.  The  schoolmaster,  who  is 
a  Brother  of  the  Third  Order,  came  at 
the  head  of  his  school-children,  who 
carried  two  banners,  the  Indians  follow- 
ing behind.  They  came  down  to  the 
beach  to  receive  their  Bishop.  Then  they 
all  knelt  down  to  receive  the  episcopal 
blessing,  whereupon  they  accompanied  me 
amidst  the  firing  of  guns  and  ringing  of 
bells  to  the  mission  church,  where,  after 
a  short  address,  I  again  gave  them  my 
blessing.  That  is  in  general  the  way  the 
Indians  everywhere  receive  their  Bishop. 
I  always  had  consolation  in  this  mission, 
for  the  poor  Indians  there  are  good  and 
very  assiduous  in  attending  church  and 
their  missionary  in  exemplary  and  zeal- 
ous. 

"From  there  I  sailed  to  the  Beaver 
Islands,  which  are  situated  in  the  middle 
of  Lake  Michigan.  Two  of  these  islands 
are  inhabited,  one  by  Indians,  the  other 
by  whites,  who  are  for  the  most  part  Irish. 
When  I  first  came  to  these  missions  only 
Indians  lived  on  the  islands,  but  some 
years  ago  the  whites  began  to  settle  on 
large  Beaver  Island,  and  the  very  worst 
kind  of  whites,  namely,  the  Turkishly  in- 
clined Mormons  with  their  countless 
wives.  In  a  short  time  there  were  over 
three  hundred  families  of  these  horrible 
people  there,  ami  they  carried  on  things 
in  such  a  high-handed  manner  all  over  the 
beautiful  island  that  no  others  could 
settle  there.  Besides  their  Mohammedan 
polygamy,  they  were  a  kind  of  pirates  and 


152 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


thieves.  They  committed  so  many  bad 
deeds  that  the  neighboring  towns,  especi- 
ally the  inhabitants  of  Mackinac,  united 
hired  a  large  steamboat  and  with  arms 
drove  the  thievish  Mormons  from  Beaver 
Island. 

"Now,  this  large  and  beautiful  island  is 
inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Catholics, 
mostly    Irish    and    some    Germans,    and 


REV.    FATHER    MASSON. 

French.  They  earnestly  long  to  have  a 
church  and  priest.  On  the  22nd  of  May, 
the  fourth  Sunday  after  Easter,  I  said 
holy  Mass  there  in  a  large  school  house 
and  preached  in  English  for  the  first  time 
on  this  Island,  and  after  Mass  confirmed 
twenty-four  persons.  They  were  all 
adults,  with  the  exception  of  one  boy; 
some  of  them  were  old  men  and  women 


who  had  never  before  had  an  opportunity 
to  see  a  bishop  in  their  neighborhood. 
After  divine  services,  I  held  a  meeting 
with  the  men  to  deliberate  where  and  how 
a  church  might  be  built  on  this  island. 

"Then  I  sailed  over  to  the  smaller 
Beaver  Island,  called  Garden  Island, 
which  is  inhabited  by  Indians,  who  are 
visited  from  time  to  time  by  Rev.  Father 
Zorn.  All  these  Indians  are  now  Catho- 
lics and  hold  fast  to  the  faith,  notwith- 
standing the  bad  examples  around  them 
when  the  Mormons  were  living  in  theii 
neighborhood.  Thus  far  they  had  then- 
old  chapel,  built  of  bark,  but  they  are  now 
on  the  point  of  building  a  new  church. 
It  will  be  constructed  from  the  most  beau- 
tiful cedar  I  have  ever  seen,  which  is 
already  hewn  and  ready  for  use.  A 
building  made  of  such  cedar  can  last  more 
than  a  century,  provided  the  roof  be  re- 
paired from  time  to  time. 

"Accompanied  by  the  zealous  mission- 
ary, Rev.  Zorn,  I  vi sited  two  other  mis- 
sion stations,  and  on  the  3rd  of  June  I 
arrived  at  Little  Traverse,  the  former 
Arbe  Croche.  This  was  my  first  mission 
amongst  the  Indians,  which  I  opened  on 
the  28th  of  May,  1831.  Here  the  Indians 
have  a  beautiful,  spacious  church,  which 
they  have  built  themselves.  In  fact,  these 
Indians  are  already  pretty  well  advanced 
in  civilization.  They  are  mostly  carpen- 
ters and  make  their  own  boats.  When  I 
first  came  here  the  Indians  had  but  birch- 
bark  canoes,  which  we  seldom  see  now. 

"At  this  visitation  something  happened 
that  had  not  yet  occurred  in  our  Indian 
missions.  Margarita  Sagima,  a  young 
Indian  maiden  of  about  18  or  19  years, 
who  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
missionary,  has  led  for  years  a  pious  life 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


153 


and  gone  often  to  holy  Communion,  came 
and  entreated  me  earnestly  to  receive  her 
in  the  Ursuline  Convent  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  1  wondered  at  such  request  from 
an  Indian,  because  this  nation  only  wishes 
for  and  respects  the  matrimonial  state  as 
the  Hebrews  and  other  nations  of  ancient 
times.  In  order  to  act  with  certainty,  I 
sent  for  her  parents  and  questioned  them 
in  regard  to  their  daughter.  They  stated 
that  several  young  men  had  asked  her  to 
marry,  but  that  she  had  not  accepted  any 
such  proposal  and  that  she  intended  to 
live  single  all  her  life.  I  asked  her  then 
repeatedly  whether  she  really  wanted  to 
leave  all  and  enter  a  convent,  and  she  de- 
clared that  such  was  her  sole  wish.  I 
took  her  to  our  Ursuline  Convent  where 
she  was  received  as  a  novice.  I  wonder 
whether  she  will  persevere." 

"At  Little  Traverse  Rev.  Louis  Siffe- 
rath  is  stationed  as  missionary.  He  is  a 
conscientious,  zealous,  and  pious  priest, 
who  in  a  short  time  has  learned  the  In- 
dian language  tolerably  well  and  daily 
perfects  himself  in  it.  After  I  had  visited 
two  small  Indian  mission  stations  s  with 
Rev.  Sifferath  and  preached  to  the  In- 
dians, I  arrived,  on  the  9th  of  June,  at 
Grand  Traverse.  This  is  a  mission  of 
Rev.  Father  Mrak,  who  has  worked  for 
many  years  as  a  zealous  and  enlightened 
missionary  among  the  Indians.  I  was 
very  agreeably  surprised  when  I  saw  how 


7  On  the  17th  of  June  she  was  brought  to  the 
Ursuline  Convent  in  the  Sault,  grew  homesick  in 
a  few  days  and  was  sent  home  on  the  26th.  The 
bishop  makes  in  his  journal  the  following  re- 
mark :  "One  should  never  try  to  make  a  priest 
of  an  Indian  man  nor  a  Sister  of  an  Indian 
woman." 

8  Sheboygan  and  Bear  River.  In  this  last  place 
Baraga  said  Mass  in  Mr.  Trottrechand's  house. 
This  gentleman  gave  him  an  acre  of  land  on 
which  a  new  church  was  to  be  erected — 30x20x12. 


Father  Mrak  had  repaired  and  beautified 
his  church  both  interiorly  and  exteriorly. 

"On  our  return  from  Grand  Traverse 
we  were  obliged  to  go  ashore  at  night, 
which  was  stormy  and  cold.  I  had  no 
blanket  with  me,  but,  fortunately,  had  my 
cloak.  I  lay  down  on  the  cold  sand  and 
passed  the  night  shivering  with  cold. 
Next  morning  I  could  scarcely  speak  and 
could  hardly  stand  up;  I  had  contracted 
a  severe  cold. 

"On  the  17th  of  June  I  again  arrived 
at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  to  my  great  joy  and 
that  of  others.  I  shall  remain  here  a 
couple  of  weeks  and  then  undertake  a 
missionary  journey  to  Lake  Superior, 
which  will  last  two  months.'-' 

True  to  his  intention,  Baraga  sailed  in 
the  Propeller  Montgomery  for  the  Ke- 
weenaw Bay.  He  left  the  Sault  on  the 
29th  of  June,  his  sixty  second  birthday. 
The  boat  tied  up  at  the  Entry  and  the 
Bishop  remained  there  with  the  Edger- 
tons  for  two  days,  whereupon  he  walked 
to  L'Anse.  Not  finding  Father  Jacker  at 
home  he  remained  at  the  mission  over 
Sunday,  July  3d.  He  was  much  consoled 
at  the  flourishing  condition  of  that  Indian 
mission,  always  so  dear  to  his  heart.  It 
had  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
church  was  too  small  to  hold  all  the  peo- 
ple on  Sundays.  He  was  still  more  con- 
soled when  he  was  assured  by  some  pag- 
ans from  Lac  Vieux  Desert  (Gete-Kiti- 
gan)  that  they  themselves  and  many  of 
their  relatives  and  acquaintances  would 
come  next  summer  to  L'Anse  and  em- 
brace the  Catholic  .religion.  The  good 
Bishop  in  the  joy  of  his  heart  promised 
to  come  next  year  at  an  earlier  date.  He 
said  he  would  stay  with  them  longer  to 


Verwyst,  pp.  302-308. 


154 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


instruct  the  pagans,  and  would  enlarge 
the  church  by  one-half.  He  therefore  re- 
spectfully petitioned  the  Leopoldine  So- 
ciety to  assist  him,  as  he  could  expect 
little  pecuniary  help  from  the  Indians.1" 

From  L'Anse  Baraga  returned  on  the 
Str.  Princess  to  the  Entry  and  took  pas- 
sage on  the  Mineral  Rock  for  Eagle  Har- 
bor.   We  have  been  accustomed  to  see  the 


ments.  Sunday,  July  ioth,  he  preached 
in  three  languages,  and  made  an  appeal 
for  contributions.  After  Mass  Father 
Thiele  took  up  a  collection  to  the  amount 
of  three  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  Howe, 
president  of  the  Cliff  Mine  Copper  Com- 
pany also  donated  one  hundred  dollars 
Baraga,  himself,  contributed  three  hun- 
dred dollars  and  a  large  bell  costing  one 


REV.    CHARLES     MAGNEE. 


good  Bishop  on  snow  shoes  or  in  a  canoe, 
here  he  surprises  us  by  a  new  mode  of 
travelling.  Upon  arriving  at,  Eagle  Har- 
bor he  went  to  Copper  Harbor  and  re- 
turned, again  down  to  Cliff — all  on  horse 
back.  As  we  know,  the  church  there  was 
under  construction  and  almost  completed. 
Funds  were  necessary  to  make  the  pay- 


Verwvst. 


hundred  and  sixteen  dollars.  This  bell  is 
still  calling  the  faithful  to  divine  services 
at  the  Phoenix,  whither  it  had  been  re- 
moved together  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  church  in  1901.  The  following  Sun- 
day the  Bishop  made  the  same  urgent  re- 
quest to  the  people  of  Eagle  Harbor  on 
behalf  of  their  church.  A  sum  of  eighty 
six  dollars  was  the  result. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


155 


A  hurried  visit  was  next  paid  to  Onto- 
nagon from  where  the  Bishop  went  to 
Marquette  on  his  favorite  steamer,  the 
North  Star.  He  arrived  early  in  the 
morning,  Saturday.  July  21st,  and  found 
that  Father  Duroc  was  in  a  bout  with  his 
polyglot  congregation,  on  account  of  his 
apathy  towards  his  own  French  parish- 
ioners. To  allay  the  ruffled  feelings,  the 
Bishop  considered  it  imperative  to  remain 
over  Sunday,  as  the  people  could  not  be 
drummed  together  on  a  week  day.  This 
lay-off  of  a  day  likewise  suited  another 
purpose.  He  had  long  ago  planned  the  es- 
tablishing of  a  mission  in  Negaunee, 
where  many  people  were  being  employed 
in  the  iron  mines.  And.  for  the  first  time 
in  his  diocese,  Baraga  rode,  on  this  day, 
on  a  railway  from  Marquette  to  the  Pion- 
eer Iron  Mine,  as  Negaunee  was  then 
called.  Lots  were  secured  from  Mr.  John 
Charles  Mackenzie,  in  the  block  No.  2 
of  the  present  city  plot,  and  arrangement 
made  for  the  building  of  a  chapel.  Re- 
turning to  Marquette  the  Bishop  took  the 
confessional  for  the  evening,  and  the  fol- 
lowing morning-  at  Mass  he  addressed  the 
people  in  English,  French  and  German 
instructing  them  in  Christian  forbearance. 
The  trouble  was  dispelled.  He  remained 
five  days  longer  in  Marquette.  /\t  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  June  29th, 
the  Iron  City  left  the  port  with  the  Bish- 
op on  board  ticketed  for  Portage  Lake. 
In  his  journal  he  mentions  Portage  Lake 
as  Houghton  for  the  first  time.  Fathers 
Thiele  and  O'Neil  met  him  at  the  wharf; 
they  all  found  hospitable  quarters  at  Mr. 
Finnegau's  in  the  house  which  still  stands 
in  the  same  place,  only  a  few  rods  from 
the  old  church.  The  church  was  com- 
pleted with  the  exception  of  glazing  the 


sash  which  was  done  the  next  two  days. 
July  31st,  the  feast  of  St.  Ignatius  Loyola 
was  a  solemn  da)-  for  Houghton.  The 
first  church  was  dedicated  to  the  worship 
of  God  in  the  name  of  the  saint  whose 
feast  was  being  celebrated.  The  Bishop 
sang  Pontifical  High  Mass  assisted  by 
Revs.  Thiele,  Jacker,  and  O'Neil.  The 
church  was  packed  with  people  of  all  na- 
tionalities and  creeds.  As  customary  the 
Bishop  addressed  them  in  English,  French 
and  German.  The  collection  netted  three 
hundred  and  four  dollars.  The  question 
of  the  first  pastor  was  being  agitated  even 
while  the  church  was  being  built  and 
reached  the  climax  in  a  petition  to  the 
Bishop.  "Upon  a  strong  petition,  says 
Baraga,  I  have  left  Father  O'Neil  in 
charge  of  the  congregation,  but  only  in 
petto  for  one  year.  If  he  does  well,  he 
may  stay  longer.  Dissatisfaction  of  the 
German  and  French  was  at  once  appar- 
ent. It  is  however  not  an  easy  matter  to 
obtain  priests  who  speak  English,  Ger- 
man and  French."11 

August  3d  Bishop  Baraga  returned  to 
the  Sault  on  the  North  Star,  to  attend  to 
his  mail-matters,  even  before  he  could 
complete  his  church  visitations  on  Lake 
Superior.  Besides  something  else  drew 
him  home.  Patrick  Smith,  a  resident  of 
Mackinac  had  a  law-suit  in  the  justice 
court  of  the  village  and  the  bishop  was 
summoned  to  appear  on  the  nth  day  of 
August  as  a  witness.  He  reached  the 
Island  on  Tuesday,  the  yth  and  returned 
to  the  Sault  for  Sunday.  Only  physical 
indisposition  prevented  him  from  going 
immediately  to  Lake  Superior  to  con- 
tinue the  interrupted  visitations.  A  week 
later  he  felt  sufficiently  recovered  to  take 


11  Baraga's  Diary. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


up  the  work.  On  his  way  up  he  briefly 
visited  Marquette,  La  Pointe,  and  Onto- 
nagon. On  the  31st  of  August  he  arrived 
at  the  Minnesota  Mine  where  prepara- 
tions were  at  their  height  for  the  impend- 
ing dedication  of  the  new  church.  The 
celebration  should  eclipse  all  previous 
occasions.  The  church,  as  Baraga  says, 
was  the  largest  and  the  finest  in  the  dio- 
cese. A  pipe  organ,  the  first  and  only  one 
in  whole  Upper  Peninsula,  brought  from 
Buffalo  at  a  cost  of  nine  hundred  dollars, 
was  to  be  heard  on  that  day.  Father  Fox 
even  secured  Mr.  Weismueller,  a  cele- 
brated musician  of  Green  Bay,  to  play  the 
instrument.  At  last,  on  the  4th  of  Sep- 
tember the  church  was  dedicated  to  the 
holy  Name  of  Mary  with  all  possible 
splendor  and  pomp.  The  sermon  by  the 
bishop  was  in  English,  German  and 
French.  And  at  the  conclusion  fourteen 
persons   were   confirmed. 

This  practically  concluded  Baraga's 
episcopal  visitations  for  the  year.  He  re- 
turned to  the  Sault.12 

September  21st,  he  makes  the  follow- 
ing entry  in  his  journal.  "The  thirty 
sixth  anniversary  of  my  ordination.  Deo 
gratias! — The  eighteenth  anniversary  of 
my  meditative  morning  prayer.  Deo  gra- 
tias infinitas !"  This  morning  meditation. 
Bishop  Baraga  continued  to  the  last  day 
of  his  life.  Even  if  he  had  not  casually 
remarked  it  in  his  diary,  those  who  have 
lived  with  him — and  some  are  still  alive 
— have  more  than  once  told  us  of  this 
inner  life  of  the  Bishop.  Sic  Jacker, 
Bourion,  Terhorst,  Ccbul  Vertin,  Mur- 
ray, Burns,  Dwyer. 


12  While  it  does  not  belong  to  our  History,  yet 
it  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that  on  the  14th 
of  September  the  first  snow  fell  at  the  Soo  in 
1859. 


About  this  time  Bishop  Baraga  ex- 
pected, from  Carniolia,  his  native  land, 
two  priests.  He  had  cut  short  his  stay  at 
the  Minnesota  Mine  because  he  thought 
that  they  might  have  arrived  during  his 
absence.  His  disappointment  was  keen 
when,  upon  his  return  to  the  Sault,  he 
learned  that  they  had  not  yet  come.  He 
repeatedly  laments  about  it  in  his  journal. 
On  October  second  he  dedicated  the  Cliff 
church  but  immediately  returned  home, 
as  though  he  could  miss  them.  On  the 
6th  he  writes  in  his  diary.  "Sad  because 
neither  Mr.  Haller  nor  the  two  priests 
from  Krain  have  come."  Mr.  Haller  was 
only  a  student,  while  of  the  two  priests, 
Father  Cebul  was  one,  we  surmise  that 
Father  Andolschek  was  the  other.  Father 
John  Cebul  actually  arrived  on  the  13th 
of  October — his  27th  birthday.  We  can 
imagine  the  Bishop's  pleasure  after  so 
much  anxious  waiting.  Who  would 
blame  him  if  he  had  detained  this  priest — 
a  countryman — a  week  or  two,  or  the 
whole  winter,  pleasantly  chatting  with 
him  in  their  leisure  hours  of  friends  and 
home  and  happenings  in  the  old  father- 
land !  No,  he  was  needed  elsewhere. 
There  were  people  without  holy  Mass  on 
Sunday!  Next  day  he  sends  Father  Ce- 
bul to,the  Minnesota  Mine,  that  he  may 
there,  under  the  experienced  Father  Fox, 
acquaint  himself  with  this  country's  mis- 
sionary life,  and  learn  English  and 
French.  "He  left  on  the  "Mineral  Rock" 
for  his  destination,"  coldly  enters  the 
Bishop  into  his  journal.  Here  it  was  on 
this  occasion  while  going  to  the  Steamer 
that  the  Bishop  carried  the  satchels  of 
Father  Cebul,  as  Verwyst  relates.  "Never 
mind,  you  must  spare  yourself;  I  am  old 
and   used   to   these   things.      I   am   your 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


157 


Bishop;  you  must  obey!*'  -was  the  reply 
when  the  priest  remonstrated. 

October  30th  the  long  expected  theo- 
logical student  Joseph  Haller  came  also. 
Father  Mrak  of  Eagletown  was  usually 
burdened  with  such  students  who  had  not 
finished  the  course  in  a  regular  Seminary, 
and  had  to  be  qualified  for  ordination 
sooner,  on  account  of  the  sore  need  of 
priests.  He  still  had  with  him  Air.  Ger- 
hard Terhorst.     The  good  Bishop  calcu- 


the  young  man  came  to  him  where  he  re- 
mained  some   time. 

On  the  20th  of  November  the  diocese 
received  the  first  Vicar  General  in  the 
person  of  Father  Ignatius  Mrak 

The  year  1S60  began  with  a  beautiful 
day,  but  its  sunshine  augured  poorly  the 
future,  for  it  contained  an  abundance  of 
trouble  and  arduous  labor  with  but  little 
solace  to  counterbalance  them.  Right  on 
the  second  day  a  novel  task  presented  it- 


A    VIEW    OF    THE    OLD     MARQUETTE    COURT     HOUSE    WITH     THE    FIRST 
CHURCH      TO     THE     BACK     OF     IT,     AND     THE     FIRST      URSULINE 
CONVENT    TO    THE    LEFT. 


lated  sending  Air.  Haller  there  also.  Ac- 
cordingly the  young  man  took  the  boat 
for  Milwaukee  in  order  to  cross  Lake 
Michigan  for  Traverse  Bay.  Upon  his 
arrival  a  great  disappointment  came  to 
him  and  to  the  Bishop.  Father  Mrak 
bluntly  refused  to  be  any  longer  semi- 
nary-director, professor  and  Indian  mis- 
sionary, all  in  one  and  at  the  same  time. 
In  consequence  Father  Jacker  at  L'Anse 
was  made  the  victim  of  the  situation  and 


self — novel  for  a  bishop — to  sew  together 
fifty  Ottawa  books  which  he  had  printed 
in  Cincinnati  in  1S58.  Six  hundred 
copies  would  have  given  him  a  tedious  oc- 
cupation for  twelve  days.  Other  work 
interrupted  him  and  he  finished  it  only  on 
the  1 8th  day  of  January  having  worked 
some  days,  double  shift  at  that.  The 
promise  which  he  had  made  the  past 
spring  to- visit  St.  Ignace  this  winter,  be- 
fore the  departure  of  the  fisherman,  lay 


158 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


heavily  on  his  soul.  His  enfeebled  con- 
dition hardly  permitted  undertaking  the 
journey  and  much  less  as  it  had  to  be 
done  mostly  on  foot.  Considering  it  a 
duty,  however,  at  his  request,  Father 
Piret  sent  two  guides,  who  arrived  in  the 
Sault  the  day  after  Candlemas.  Unfor- 
tunately it  was  a  Friday,  hence  too  late 
to  undertake  the  journey  that  week,  be- 
cause the  Bishop  would  not  be  on  the 
road  on  Sunday.  Early  Monday  morning 
February  6th,  he  started  out  with  his 
guides.  He  rode  three  miles  on  a  carri- 
ole, then  walked  on  snow-shoes  a  long 
distance  and  when  these  also  became  too 
heavy,  he  took  them  off  and  walked  with 
his  bare  moccasins.  After  walking  twen- 
ty miles  they  reached  the  empty  hut  of  an 
Indian  chief.  There  they  put  up  for  the 
night.  "I  passed  the  night  very  comfor- 
tably in  this  hut.  thanks  to  my  double 
blanket  and  the  care  of  my  guides."  13 

Next  morning  they  started  out  at  seven 
o'clock  and  marched  all  day.  In  the 
afternoon  the  mail-carrier  Miron  over- 
took them  and  they  kept  his  company  for 
the  remainder  of  the  journey.  Tired  out 
by  the  long  tramp,  the  Bishop  told  his 
guides  to  prepare  a  camp,  five  miles  from 
the  Pine  River,  after  the  standard  fash- 
ion. By  means  of  the  snow-shoes,  snow 
was  shoveled  away  as  much  as  possible. 
A  tent-like  structure  of  poles  and  branches 
was  erected  and  the  Bishop  domiciled  in 
it  for  the  night.  In  the  morning  the 
Bishop  found  out  to  his  surprise  that  they 
had  camped  not  far  from  the  lake.  "Had 
I  known  this,  I  would  have  forced  our 
march  to  the  lake  shore."  As  they  step- 
ed  on  the  ice  a  joyous  convoy  of  over 
twenty    carrioles    greeted    the    travelers. 


Diary. 


Half-breeds  and  Indians  from  Mackinac 
and  St.  Ignace  had  come  out  to  receive 
their  chief  pastor  and  conduct  him  in 
triumph  to  the  last  named  village,  where 
they  arrived  at  one  o'clock. 

Between  St.  Ignace  and  Mackinac  the 
Bishop  spent  profitably  two  weeks,  offici- 
ating in  each  parish  one  Sunday.  Febru- 
ary 1 2th  he  confirmed  ninety  persons  in 
St.  Ignace  and  the  following  Sunday 
eighty-two  on  the  Island.  This  was  a 
goodly  number  for  these  two  localities 
and  for  those  times.  Besides  he  visited 
Indians  and  whites  in  their  homes;  he 
heard  confessions  and  stirred  them  up  to 
fervor.  No  winder  that  "today — Febru- 
ary 1 8th — Father  Murray  was  nearly  ten 
hours  in  the  confessional."  14 

On  the  return  trip,  February  23d, 
Louis  Rabeska  and  George  Bourassa  ac- 
companied him  to  the  Sault.  Leaving 
St.  Ignace  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning-, 
they  marched  until  three  in  the  afternoon 
when  they  reached  a  large  burning  and 
were  forced  to  camp  there  because  they 
could  not  traverse  it  before  nightfall.  "In 
this  encampment  I  spent  a  miserable 
night."  15 

Xext  day  they  came  to  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  Sault.  "Here  I  spent  a  fair 
night  because  I  bedded  myself  better  than 
the  foregoing  night."  lfi 

In  the  morning  of  the  third  da}'  they 
broke  camp  at  six  o'clock  arriving  four 
hours  later  in  the  Sault  'to  the  great  sat- 
isfaction' of  the  Bishop. 

During  that  Lenten  season,  which  com- 
menced the  day  after  his  return  home, 
Bishop  Baraga  devoted  much  time  to  or- 
dinary pastoral  duties,  visiting  the  sick; 

14  Diarv. 
16  DiarV. 
10  Ibid. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


159 


the  lukewarm,  holding  devotions,  and 
giving  instructions.  Literarily  he  was 
busy  with  the  second  edition  of  the  cele- 
brated diocesan  statutes  of  which  he  sent 
one  copy  to  Rome  for  approval,  another 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati.  Holy 
Thursday  he  consecrated  the  oils  with 
the  assistance  of  one  priest. 

With  the  opening  of  the  navigation — 
May  14 — Bishop  Baraga  made  the  first 
trip  to  Portage  Lake.  Mr.  Montferrat. 
the  new  school  teacher  of  L'Anse,  and 
Mr.  Buettner,  a  student,  accompanied 
him.  After  a  short  stop  in  L'Anse  he 
proceeded  to  Houghton  where  the  rela- 
tions between  the  pastor  and  flock  were 
not  of  a  most  agreeable  nature.  The 
Bishop,  always  indexible  in  such  matters, 
soon  made  his  authority  felt.  On  both 
sides  the  ranters  were  routed  and  the 
peaceful  Father  Jacker  once  more  placed 
in  charge  of  the  mission.  We  are  told 
that  Houghton  had  always  more  or  less 
breeze,  and  that  ever  since  the  above  oc- 
currence the  bishops,  even  when  they 
slept,   kept   an  eye  open  on  Houghton ! 

Bendry's  scow  was  the  best  accommo- 
dation the  Bishop  could  get  to  the  Entry. 
Waiting  there  two  days  the  Mineral 
Rock  relieved'  him  and  brought  him  to 
the  Sault.  Perhaps  the  one  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty  dollar  check,  from 
the  Leopoldine  Society,  which  he  found 
in  his  mail,  was  at  least  of  some  consola- 
tion upon  the  exciting  occurrences  of  the 
past  ten  days.  Nay!  Even  this  check 
had  to  tag  some  disagreeableness.  While 
the  amount  as  correctly  written :  £^97 
Sterling  the  words  were :  Deux  cent 
quatre  vingt  sept  instead  of  qnatrc  vingt 
dix  sept.  Ten  pounds  Sterling  was  a  con- 
sideration  and  the  good   Bishop  had  to 


wait  patiently  till  a  duplicate  order  ar- 
rived from  the  Austrian  capital. 

Baraga's  second  trip  was  again  up 
the  Lake  Superior  but  this  time  to  La 
Pointe  and  principally  to  Superior.  This 
last  mission  was  bereft  of  all  spiritual 
care  since  fall.  Father  Angelus  Van 
Paemel,  who  attends  to  its  spiritual  wants 
was,  through  sickness,  forced  to  abandon 
his  labors  and  .to  return  to  his  native  Bel- 
gium. Wherefore,  when  the  Bishop  ar- 
rived he  found  a  chaotic  condition  of 
things.  He  heard  confession,  baptized 
blessed  marriages,  gave  instructions,  ami 
c<  infirmed.  Fully  ten  days  he  busied  him- 
self with  this  common  pastoral  work.  In 
Bear  River,  a  small  out-station,  he  found 
1  surprisingly  neat  chapel  located  in  the 
upper  story  of  Xanadjiwanons'  house.  It 
pleased  him  so  much  that  he  at  once  pur- 
chased the  upper  section  of  the  house  for 
the  sum  of  forty  dollars  and  paid  the  In- 
dian cash  for  it.  To  enlarge  the  chapel 
he  contracted  with  Joseph  Rice  for  an 
addition  to  Xawadjiwanons'  (Little  Cur- 
rent) house.  When  he  went  to  his  carpet 
bag  to  advance  ten  dollars  on  his  con- 
tract he  found  that  his  money,  about  six- 
ty-five dollars,  was  stolen.  The  culprit 
was  however  soon  located,  apprehended 
and  held  to  the  circuit  court. — For  an 
example  of  his  activity  we  quote  from  his 
journal:  "June  10th  Sunday.  Extraor- 
dinary day  for  work !  From  four  o'clock 
this  morning  till  ten  o'clock  this  evening  I 
worked  incessantly;  remarkably  many 
confessions;  five  sermons;  twenty  three 
baptisms  and  three  confirmations.  The 
church  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity." 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  the  Bishop  arrived 
in  Ontonagon.  This  mission  was  still  at- 
tended  from  the  Minnesota   Mine  alter- 


160 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


nately  by  Father  Fox  or  Father  Cebul. 
Although  they  had  besides  the  church  a 
dwelling,  the  missionary  came  only  for 
Sundays  or  otherwise  when  required 
This  Saturday  the  Bishop  found  Father 
Cebul  there.  How  well* he  was  pleased 
with  the  young  priest's  zeal  the  following 
entry  in  his  journal  tells : 

"Father  Cebul  gives  me  much  consola- 


from  there  in  the  broiling  sun,  six  miles, 
over  the  big  hills  to  the  Old  Hollow. 
Everything  was  in  the  best  of  order 
whereever  Martin  Fox  ruled.  So  like- 
wise here.  The  church,  though  still 
somewhat  indebted,  was  as  extravagantly 
equipped,  as  the  "house" — a  small  shanty 
—was  lamentably  poor  and  empty.  Table 
utensils  were  a  veritable  curiosity  around 


REV.    SEBASTIAN    DUROC. 


tion  on  account  of  his  excellent  disposi- 
tion for  missionary  life."  Sunday  the 
Bishop  preached,  as  customary,  in  three 
languages  and  heard  Indian  confessions. 
During  his  stay  he  also  attended  to  the  re- 
pairs of  the  house  and  fence  around  the 
property.  Having  missed  the  river  boat 
for  Minnesota  Mine,  on  Tuesday,  he  took 
the    stage    for   Maplegrove   and    walked 


the  house.  Observing  the  absence  of 
these  useful  articles,  the  good  Bishop  pre- 
sented Father  Fox  with  four  pair  of  forks 
and  knives  and  five  spoons!  La  Pointe 
and  dependent  missions,  without  spiritual 
care  since  last  fall,  were  bespoken.  Father 
Cebul  having  acquired  English  and 
French  was  selected  for  the  post  and  sent 
for  the  time  being  to  Ontonagon.     The 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


161 


Bishop  followed  him  to  complete  the  re- 
pairs already  under  way.  The  carpenter 
had  about  finished  his  work  and — on  the 
27th  of  June — the  Bishop  himself  ar- 
ranged the  scanty  furniture  and  para- 
phernalia in  the  sacristy,  church  and 
house,  working  at  it  all  day.  Before  re- 
turning to  the  Sault,  he  visited  once  more 
Bear  River  to  see  how  the  enlarging  of 
his  newly  acquired  chapel  was  progress- 
ing. In  La  Pointe  he  took  the  North 
Star  homeward  bound;  and  in  Ontona- 
gon Patrick  Flannigan  joined  him,  on  his 
way  to  the  Seminary  in  Cincinnati. 

Having  attended  to  his  correspondence 
the  Bishop  waited  for  a  chance  to  go  to 
Mackinac.  As  no  boat  came  in  five  days, 
he  set  out — July  5th — with  two  men  in 
a  small  sail  boat.  The  weather  being  ex- 
ceptionally warm  and  calm  the  men  took 
to  the  oars  and  rowed  all  day.  At  eight 
in  the  evening  they  reached  Detour ;  he 
and  his  pilots  found  hospitable  lodgings 
for  the  night  at  Mr.  Gaffiney's.  At  five 
o'clock  next  morning,  there  still  being  no 
boat  in  sight,  the  little  craft  left  the  shore 
under  the  strokes  of  the  oars  (for  Macki- 
nac). A  favorable  wind  caught  the  sails 
towards  ten  o'clock  and  they  arrived  on 
the  Island  at  2  p.  m.  where  they  spent 
Sunday  with  Father  Murray.  Monday 
morning,  despite  the  rough  weather,  the 
Bishop  urged  his  boat  out,  but  after  a 
short  battling  with  the  waves  had  to 
abandon  the  trip  till  the  following  morn- 
ing. He  visited,  in  their  turn,  Cross  Vil- 
lage, Garden  Island,  Beaver  Harbor, 
Middle  Village,  Agaming,  Sheboygen, 
Little  and  Grand  Traverse  and  finally 
came  to  Eagletown.  This  whole  trip  was 
only  a  successive  chain  of  evidence  of  the 
terrible   ravages   of   drunkenness   among 


the  red  skins.  Since  the  mixing- up  of  the 
whites  this  vice  had  taken  such  potent 
roots  that  all  the  efforts  of  the  zealous 
missionaries  were  not  much  more  than  in 
vain.  This  condition  infinitely  saddened 
the  Bishop.  He  vehemently  denounced 
the  scandalous  liquor  traffic  and  impas- 
sionately  appealed  to  the  Indians  to  shun 
the  inebriating  liquid.  Discussing  the  ex- 
isting evil  with  his  Vicar  General  Mrak, 
at  Eagletown,  all  kinds  of  remedies  were 
hit  upon  and  recommended. 

In  Beaver  Harbor  the  contract  for  the 
building  of  a  small  church  was  given  to 
Mr.  Guilbeault  for  two  hundred  dollars. 

But  to  heighten  the  intensity  of  the  Bis- 
hop's sadness  a  letter  from  Father  Menet 
contributed  not  a  little.  He  therein  set 
forth  his  intention  of  withdrawing  from 
the  Sault.  The  misunderstanding  dated 
from  the  previous  April.  The  Bishop  had 
noticed  the  growing  difference  between 
the  Indians  of  his  jurisdiction  and  those 
scattered  throughout  the  neighboring 
Canadian  country.  Thinking  that  he 
would  render  the  cause  a  service,  he  wrote 
to  Bishop  Farrell  of  Hamilton,  to  whose 
diocese  the  territory  belonged,  that  he 
might  recommend  to  Father  Du  Ranquet, 
the  missionary  at  Garden  River,  to  take 
a  greater  interest  in  the  instruction  of  his 
charges.  The  Canadian  Bishop  did  so; 
but  perhaps  not  as  gently  and  in  the  same 
spirit  as  was  intended  by  Bishop  Baraga. 
By  the  missionary  it  was  taken  up  more 
as  a  reprimand  than  an  exhortation. 
Pere  Menet  when  apprised  of  the  facts 
took  exception  to  Bishop  Baraga's  misgiv- 
ing letter.  Hence  their  dissension  and  final 
withdrawal  of  the  veteran  missionary 
from  the  Sault.  It  was  only  blind,  com- 
passionate  pity   for   the   Indian   and    his 


162 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


wretched  state  that  guided  the  Bishop  in 
his  judgment.  He  thought  only  what  he 
would  do,  but  forgot  that  means  which 
were  at  his  command  were  entirely  want- 
ing on  Father  Du  Ranquet's  side.  Du 
Ranquet  was,  for  the  greater  part,  school 
master  and  missionary  at  the  same  time 
and  turned  out  as  much  profitable  labor 
as  his  physical  strength  and  his  talents 
yielded.  His  merits  for  the  Indian,  in  and 
around  the  Michipicoten  region,  no  pen 
can  adequately  describe.  He  spent  his  last 
days  for  the  betterment  of  the  Indian  race. 
Revered  by  those  whom  he  had  be- 
friended, and  for  whom  he  had  sacrificed 
manhood  days,  he  died  a  nonagenarian,  at 
Wikwemikong,  Algoma  District,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1900. 

Sunday,  the  29th  of  June  at  Eagletown 
after  his  Mass,,  Bishop  Baraga  received  ,1 
formidable  letter  from  Father  Menet.  "It 
so  distressed  me  that  I  could  scarcely 
preach  at  High-mass."  17  After  Mass  a 
c<  mclusii  >n  was  reached.  First  of  all,  that, 
if  the  Jesuits  left  him  he  would  not  only 
have  to  provide  '  himself  with  another 
priest,  but  would  also  have  to  have  a 
teacher  for  the  school  which  the  Jesuit- 
Brother  taught.  He  could  look  after  the 
parish  himself,  but  who  would  take  the 
school  ?  No  other  plan  looked  more  feasi- 
ble, than  to  put  Mr.  Terhorst,  who  was 
completing  his  theology  with  Father 
Mrak,  to  the  task.  Accordingly  both,  the 
Bishop  and  the  future  schoolmaster  at  the 
Sault,  walked,  next  morning,  to  North- 
port  where  they  took  a  propeller  for 
Mackinac  and  from  thence,  the  Illinois  to 
the  Sault. 

Here  the  situation  was  more  agreeable 
than  the  Bishop  had  anticipated.     While 

17  Diary. 


I  'ere  Menet  was  determined  to  leave,  he 
was  yet  willing  to  remain  until  after  the 
Bishop's  visit  to  his  Lake  Superior  mis- 
sions. This  concession  greatly  pleased  the 
Bishop.  A  draft  for  eight  hundred  and  six- 
teen dollars  and  thirty-two  cents  from 
Munich,  found  in  the  mails,  must  also 
have  had  a  soothing  effect  upon  his  trou- 
bled feelings.     But  the  trip  was  not  de- 


REV.    RICHARD   BAXTER,    S.    T. 

layed.  August  4th  he  arrived  in  La  Pointe 
where  Father  Cebul  had  assumed  the  pas- 
torate some  weeks  before.  The  people  of 
Bayfield  had  petitioned  that  the  prieet  re- 
move to  that  village,  because  the  popula- 
tion was  greater  on  the  mainland  than  on 
the  Island.  Accompanied  by  Father  Cebul. 
the  Bishop  went  thither  to  see  what  ac- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


163 


commodations  could  be  had  for  a  station- 
ary priest.  The  church  was  almost  com- 
plete, and  Mr.  Henry  M.  Rice  started 
upon  the  house  immediately,  upon  the  as- 
surance that  the  priest  will  move  there  as 
soon  as  the  buildings  are  ready.  In  Bad 
River  the  Bishop  superintended  the  in- 
stalling of  pews  in  the  enlarged  chapel 
and  went,  by  way  of  La  Pointe,  on  the 
Lady  Elgin,  to  the  Entry  and  walked 
from  there  to  L'Anse.  Here,  among  all 
other  missions,  Baraga  found  much  grat- 
ification in  the  exemplary  life  of  the  In- 
dians. The  attendance  at  Mass,  notwith- 
standing the  disagreeable  weather,  taxed 
.  the  capacity  of  the  church,  without  any- 
body being  present  from  the  east  shore  of 
the  bay.  Commending  their  zeal,  he 
promised  his  former  parishioners  to  en- 
large their  church  with  the  advent  of 
spring.  On  a  tug  the  Bishop  and  Father 
Jacker  left  for  Houghton.  On  Sunday, 
August  JOth  the  usual  services  and  the 
sermons  by  the  Bishop  were  held,  but  on 
Monday  they  went  across  the  Portage 
Lake  to  select  a  location  for  the  building 
of  a  new  church;  they  secured  for  that 
purpose  two  lots.  The  collection,  how- 
ever, taken  up  on  the  occasion  among 
residents  proved  to  be  very  poor.  Then, 
to  find  a  contractor  for  the  new  church 
the  Bishop  went  by  way  of  Entry,  to 
Eagle  Harbor.  He  remained  with  Father 
Thiele  from  the  2 2d  to  the  29th  of 
August.  On  the  27th  Father  Thiele 
was  sent  out  with  a  letter  to  locate  John 
Burns,  a  contractor,  who  usually  resided 
at  Eagle  River,  but  otherwise  followed 
his  trade  all  over  the  county.  He  was 
found  and  promised  to  meet  the  Bish- 
op at  the  Cliff.  Accordingly,  we  find 
the   Bishop   and    Father   Thiele,   August 


30th,  on  the  road  to  the  Cliff  Mine.  At 
noon,  they  stopped, at  Eagle  River  at  John 
Kerry's  for  a  light  repast  and  upon  reach- 
ing their  destination,  Mr.  Burns  agreed  to 
the  propositions  of  the  Bishop  and  prom- 
ised to  build  the  church  in  Hancock  the 
same  fall.  On  Sunday  September  2nd, 
the  Bishop  officiated  at  the  Cliff  and  ci  >n- 
firmed  nine  persons,  and  on  the  following 
day  took,  in  Eagle  Harbor,  the  Lady  El- 
gin, for  Marquette.  This  trip  proved  to 
be  of  some  consequence.  Bishop  Baraga 
met  among  the  passengers  Mr.  Casper 
Schulte.  The  man  impressed  him  great- 
ly; possessed  of  some  education  yet  with 
no  ambition  soaring  beyond  his  attain- 
ments. Providence  seemed  to  have  thrown 
the  master  and  the  servant  in  each  other's 
way.  Upon  his  return  to  the  Sault,  the 
Bishop  would  need  a  servant,  a  sacristan, 
a  general  manager  of  his  house-hold,  but 
centered  all  in  one  person,  and  Mr. 
Schulte  appeared  to  have  all  these  quali- 
ties. He  had  sufficient  Latin  knowledge  to 
be  of  great  usefulness  around  the  church 
and  altar,  his  culinary  education  could  be 
perfected  by  practice  and  above  all  he  was 
willing  humbly  to  serve  an  humble  Bishop 
for  the  rest  of  his  natural  life,  for  the 
simple  necessaries  of  life  and,  upon  the 
demise  of  the  Bishop,  a  small  sum  of 
money,  in  case  that  his  successor  would 
not  continue  to  keep  him  in  service.  As 
the  Bishop  could  not  make  this  contract 
binding  upon  his  successor  in  office,  he 
readily  agreed  to  the  last  named  stipu- 
lation and  the  compact  was  closed.  Ar- 
rived in  Marquette,  Bishop  Baraga  went 
ashore  while  Caspar,  as  he  is  hereafter 
known,  continued  his  journey  to  the 
Sault. 

The  last  transaction  of  acquiring  a  lot 


164 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


in  Xegaunee  had  not  proved  as  satisfac- 
tory as  the  Bishop  desired,  so  he  went 
there  again,  and  paid  the  agent,  Spilman, 
twenty-five  dollars  on  account  for  lot 
three  (3),  of  block  two  (2)  It  was  Sep- 
tember 10th.  Having  tarried  around 
.Marquette  a  week,  the  Bishop  decided  to 
return  to  the  Sault.  But  no  boat  came. 
The  Lady  Elgin  was  forty  hours  over  due. 
On  Friday,  August  14th,  the  Illinois  came 
to  port  and  brought  the  sad  news  that  the 
Lady  Elgin  had  foundered  in  a  severe 
storm  on  Lake  Superior  and  sunk  with 
three  hundred  people  on  board. 

Under  date  of  September  15th  Bishop 
Baraga  makes  the  following  entry  in  his 
journal :  "At  four  p.  m.  arrived  in  the 
Sault;  saw  the  devastation — Gerhard 
Terhorst  is  of  much  consolation  to  me. 
I  hope  he  will  prove  a  good  missionary 
and  Caspar  Schulte  a  good  servant." 
Pere  Menet  had  departed,  in  the  small 
block  house  behind  the  church  only  scat- 
tered papers  lay  around,  witnesses  of  re- 
cent packing.  No  familiar  face  around 
the  time  honored  premises  to  greet  the 
venerable  Prelate!  Everything  looked 
disconsolate.  But  Baraga  was  not  the 
man  to  lose  much  time  in  this  sad  medita- 
tion. He  took  charge  of  the  parish,  Mr. 
Terhorst  of  the  school,  and  to  Caspar 
were  alloted  the  offices  of  sexton,  servant 
and  cook.  Next  morning,  it  being  Sun- 
day, the  Bishop  performed  all  the  work 
common  to  a  parish  priest  and  "so  it  will 
go  on  ail  winter  for  I  have  little  hope  of 
finding  this  winter  a  suitable  priest  for 
the  Sault."  18 

With  the  departure  of  the  Jesuits,  two 
schools,  that  of  girls  and  boys,  remained 
without  a  teacher.     The  Ursuline  Nuns, 


who  had  conducted  an  Academy  and 
taught  the  girls  school,  had  closed  their 
institution  and  returned  to  Chatham,  Can- 
ada. As  no  suitable  lady-teacher  could  be 
provided  the  two  rooms  had  to  be  joined. 
The  partition  was  taken  out  and  one  class 
room,  for  boys  and  girls,  formed.  Here 
Gerard  Terhorst  became  sole  preceptor. 
But  the  Chatham  nuns  seemed  to  have  be- 
thought themselves.  Early  in  October 
they  communicated  to  the  Bishop  a  desire 
to  return.  To  this  the  Bishop  answered  in 
the  negative.  "The  Ursulines  desire  to 
come  back.  They  may  stay  where  they 
are.  I  do  not  care  for  subjects  who  are 
not  under  my  control,  v\ho  come  and  go 
when  they  please.19  We  doubt  not  but 
bis  answer  to  those  ladies  contained  a 
good  deal  of  the  above  essence.  And  they 
did  not  return.  Knowing  that  Mr.  Ter- 
horst's  frail  constitution  could  not  long 
hold  out  in  so  numerous  a  class  the  Bishop 
wrote  to  Detroit  in  quest  of  a  school- 
teacher. In  response  to  this  Mr.  Seymour 
came.  His  baggage  was  of  so  extraor- 
dinary proportion  that  it  caused  the  Bish- 
op to  exclaim:  "What  baggage  this  man 
has!"  But  notwithstanding  his  multiple 
luggage  he  was  installed  in  his  new  posi- 
tion. Gerhard  Terhorst  being  relieved  of 
teaching  took  up  again  the  reading  of  the- 
ology under  the  direction  of  the  Bishop 
himself.  Thus  between  teaching  theology 
and  attending  to  parochial  duties,  the  au- 
tumn days  advanced,  with  small  varia- 
tions. October  19th,  Fathers  Jacker  and 
Thiele  called  at  the  Sault  and  furnished 
no  little  amusement  to  the  Bishop,  with 


'  Diary. 


"  Die  Ursulinerinen  wollen  wieder  kommen. 
Sie  sollen  bleiben  wo  sie  sind.  Je  n'aime  pas 
avoir  des  sujets  qui  ne  sont  pas  sous  ma  con- 
trole,  et  qui  s'en  vont  quand  ils  veulent.  Diary, 
October  9,   i860. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


165 


their  attempts  at  beard  raising.  November 
20th,  arrived  James  Sweeney,  a  Jesuit- 
Brother.  Among  the  Indian  missions  he 
had  picked  up  considerable  Indian ;  this 
captivated  the  Bishop  at  once.  He  thought 


view  of  receiving  a  proper  dismissal  from 
the  Order.  But  after  having  the  letter 
mailed  the  Bishop  reconsidered  his  action 
and  reclaimed  it  from  the  post-office. 
Brother  Sweeney  left  with  the  expectation 


REV.    P.    M.    FLANNIGAN,   ORDAINED    NOV.    l6,    1862. 

that  Sweeney  could  possibly  turn  out  to  be  of  returning  as  soon  as  he  would  be  re- 

a  priest.    The  idea  was  favorable  to  both,  leased  from  the  Society.     On  the  12th  of 

They  had  a  letter  framed  and  addressed  to  November  Rev.  Andrew  Andolschek  ar- 

the  Jesuit  Superior,  Pere  Tillier,  with  a  rived  and  was  at  once  sent  to  Father  Fox 


166 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


to  be  fitted  for  the  missions.  In  the  mean- 
while Gerhard  Terhorst  was  studiously 
preparing  for  the  priesthood.  On  De- 
cember 2nd  he  received  the  tonsure  and 
the  four  minor  orders.  He  devoted  the 
most  of  his  time  to  the  study  of  the  ru- 
brics. With  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  he  commenced  the  recitation 
of  the  office  and  the  Bishop  good  natured- 
ly  adds  in  his  journal:  "Today  Mr.  Ter- 
horst commenced  to  recite  the  breviary 
and  he  will  cease  only  when  he  stops  co 
breathe."  He  did  !  During  the  first  Mass, 
December  9th,  being  the  patron-feast  of 
the  Cathedral  and  of  the  diocese,  he  re- 
ceived Sub-deaconship.  He  exercised  his 
new  office  at  the  ten  o'clock  Pontifical 
Mass,  being  the  only  assistant  to  the 
bishop.  On  the  1 6th.  he  was  ordained 
Deacon. 

Here  is  an  entry  worth  notice :  Decem- 


ber 18.  Again  windy  and  cold.  This 
afternoon  came  the  first  over-land-mail; 
it  brought  altogether  six  letters ;  three  for 
me  and  three  for  the  rest  of  the  citizens  of 
the  Sault.  20 

The  bitter  days  of  i860  were  running 
out !  As  it  were  to  sweeten  their  memory, 
the  Bishop  had  reserved  the  ordination  of 
Gerhard  Terhorst  almost  for  the  last.  On 
the  23d  day  of  December  he  conferred 
holy  priesthood  upon  him.  And  on 
Christmas  morning  the  first  'Gloria  in  ex- 
celsis'  of  the  neo-presbyter  resounded  in 
the  small  cathedral  to  the  joyous  heart- 
throbbing  of  the  venerable  bishop  on  the 
throne. 

Thus  ended  the  30th  year  of  Bishop 
Baraga's  missionary  life  in  America. 


="  Diary. 


Chapter      VI. 

Bishop   Baraga's  labors  from  1861  to  1865. 


1861 

On  January  4th  Father  Terhorst  was 
granted  his  first  usual  faculties.  The 
Bishop  felt  relieved,  as  it  were  of  a  great 
burden.  Since  his  first  appointment  to 
Arbre  Croche  he  had  never  felt  tied  down 
to  one  place  as  in  the  preceding  three 
months.  During  his  missionary  days  he 
could  move  at  will  from  place  to  place, 
and  as  Bishop  he  could  go,  stay  and  re- 
turn at  his  own  good  pleasure.  But  when 
he  had  to  assume  the  pastorate  of  his  own 
Cathedral  parish,  there  being  no  one  to  re- 
place him,  it  must  have  seemed  to  him  as 
though  he  had  been  robbed  of  his  liberty. 
We  did  not  see  him  go  out  in  the  winter 
season  except  in  e.vtreme  necessity,  or  as 
in  a  few  instances,  to  undertake  a  long 
journey.  This  winter,  however,  not- 
withstanding that  he  had  a  journey  be- 
fore him,  entrusting  the  young  priest  with 
the  charge  of  his  congregation,  he  starts 
out  on  a  trip  down  the  St.  Mary's  River. 
It  was  more  a  missionary  tour  than  an 
episcopal  visitation.  He  went  down  as 
far  as  Detour,  visiting  every  settlement 
white  or  Indian,  on  either  shore.  On  his 
way  he  baptized,  confirmed,  heard  con- 
fessions, blessed  marriages  and  in  general 
administered  the  holy  sacraments  as  ne- 
cessity required.  In  Perrault's  landing  he 
made    arrangement    for    a    new    church. 


After  an  absence  of  twenty-two  days  he 
returned  home  to  attend  to  his  corre- 
spondence which  necessarily  had  accumu- 
lated. In  the  mail  there  was  a  draft  for 
four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy 
five  francs  from  Lyons.  Kind  Providence 
had  again  provided  for  the  just  incurred 
expenditures.  With  these  means  on 
hand,  he  worked  out  with  pleasure  the 
plans  for  the  new  edifice.  Though  only 
a  small  building,  thirty  by  twenty  feet,  it 
needed  a  design  for  the  carpenter  to  go 
by.  Such  architectural  designs  were  al- 
ways supplied  by  the  Bishop  himself. 
Then  he  thought  of  so  many  churches 
without  bells,  and  he  ordered,  February 
j  1  st,  eight  bells  from  M.  C.  Chadwick, 
presumably  of  Detroit,  Mich.  They  were 
of  different  -sizes  and  prices,  according  to 
the  importance  of  the  mission  for  which 
they  were  intended.  For  Bayfield,  Indian 
Reserve,  Superior  and  Beaver  Island  each 
a  three  hmndrd  pound  bell;  for  Payment 
one  of  two  hundred  pounds;  Hancock 
and  Negaunee  each  one  of  four  hundred 
and  sixty  pounds;  and  a  small  one  of 
eighty  pounds  for  Bad  River.  All  for  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  five  dol- 
lars. Pew  rent  was  also  a  source  of  income 
to  the  Bishop;  at  least  for  the  sustenance 
of  a  local  priest  and  other  current  ex- 
penses.   "I  am  compelled  to  speak  often 


168 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


about  pew  rent,  which  is  very  unpleas- 
ant," the  Bishop  remarks.  (On  February 
25th)  He  sent  out  a  man  to  collect  the 
outstanding  rental;  many  parties  were 
not  at  home,  and  his  only  trustee  refused 
to  pay  because  he  was  not  given  the  con- 
tract for  the  Sugar  Island  church.  Some 
of  these  very  bad  tendencies  seems  to 
have  come  down  to  our  own  days.  The 
boasted  civilization  of  the  20th  century 
has  not  been  able  to  cast  them  off. 

Early  in  the  fall  the  Bishop  became 
convinced  that  his  new  teacher,  Mr.  Sey- 
mour, was  a  failure  at  the  teaching  pro- 
fession, therefore  he  concluded  to  keep 
him  only  for  the  winter.  Examinations, 
periodically  conducted  by  the  Bishop  him- 
self, plainly  showed  that  the  school  was 
retrogressing.  This  only  hastened  the 
dismissal  of  Mr.  Seymour;  no  one  else 
being  available.  Father  Terhorst  was 
asked  to  take  the  school  again  This  he 
did  though  "very  reluctantly,  indeed." 
For  this  sacrifice  the  Bishop  presented 
him  with  a  pair  of  makisinan  (mocca- 
sins). 

The  third  Provincial  Council  was  con- 
voked in  Cincinnati  on  the  Fourth  Sun- 
day after  Easter,  April  28th.  After  the 
close  of  the  paschal  solemnities.  Bishop 
Baraga  prepared  for  the  journey.  As 
navigation  had  not  opened  yet,  he  had  to 
make  use  of  his  usual  mode  of  winter 
traveling  to  reach  the  nearest  port.  This 
trip  was  as  eventful,  as  it  was  memorable 
in  the  old  Bishop's  life.  Few  Bishops  of 
today  would  venture  to  make  it.  Beraga 
did.  We  give  the  full  entries  from  his 
diary  and  leave  the  gentle  reader  to  judge 
for  himself. 

"April,  1.  The  day  of  departure;  at 
10  o'clock  rode  as  far  as  Sobrero's.   Then 


walked,  partly  on  snow-shoes  partly  with- 
out them,  about  twelve  miles,  and  then 
camped.     A  good  night,  not  very  cold. 

"April,  2.  Broke  camp  at  six.  With 
much  hardship  and  fatigue  marched  all 
day  till  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
Then  camped  in  Fridette's  hunting-lodge. 

"April,  3.  Started  out  at  half  past  five. 
Walked  with  great  fatigue,  without 
snow-shoes,  which  were  hurting  me,  till 
one  o'clock.  In  the  afternoon  we  reached 
the  ice  at  Pine  River.  When  half  way 
across  the  Traverse,  Bellanger  met  me 
with  his  horse.  I  staid  with  him  over 
night. 

"April,  4.  Rode  away  from  Bellang- 
er's  at  six  o'clock  and  arrived  at  Macki- 
nac at  7 :30  a.  m. 

"April,  5.  Drove  with  Theodore  Wen- 
dell from  Mackinac  at  eight  o'clock  and 
arrived  at  noon  in  Sheboygan,  where  we 
stayed  over  night  at  the  house  of  Joseph 
Allair,  whose  wife  was  a  Burke. 

"April,  6.  Rode  fourteen  miles  with 
Lavigne's  horse  which  on  its  way  back 
fell  into  a  crack  in  the  ice  and  perished. 
Camped  comfortably  for  the  night. 

"April,  7.  Sunday.  Unfortunately  we 
could  not  observe  this  Sunday;  we 
marched  many  miles  on  good  and  bad 
roads  till  we  reached  a  poor,  abandoned 
shanty  where  we  camped.  The  smoke 
in  this  old  hut  was  terrible;  I  said  there 
the  whole,  long  office  dc  Dominica  in 
Albis. 

"April,  8.  Walked  again  on  good  and 
bad  roads — more  bad  than  good — till  we 
arrived  in  the  evening  at  Grand  Lake  and 
camped  passably  well  for  the  night. 

"April,  9.  Today  we  started  out  early 
to  reach,  if  possible,  Thunder  Bay  before 
night-fall.    The  roads  were  bad  and  much 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


169 


water  everywhere;  still,  with  the  help  of 
God,  we  arrived  in  Alpena  towards  seven 
o'clock." 

From  this  port  the  Bishop  had  hoped 
to  find  his  way  out  on  some  vessel,  but 
even  here  navigation  had  <  >nly  opened  and 
boats  were  scarce:  besides  a  severe  indis- 
position detained  the  Bishop  four  days. 
Sunday  he  had  rallied  sufficiently  to 
preach  to  the  people,  but  could  not  say 


REV.    JOHN    B     BRCUN,    ORDAINED    AUG.    30,     1863.    AT 
PRESENT      PASTOR     OF     ST.      BERNARD'S     CHURCH. 
AKRON,   OHIO 

Mass  on  account  of  the  absence  of  the 
necessary  requisites.  This  involuntary 
detention  he  utilized  by  making  arrange- 
ments for  the  building  of  a  church.  Two 
lots  in  Block  28,  were  secured.  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  agreed  to  donate  one  while  for  the 
other  the  Bishop  paid  him  forty  dollars. 
John  Lynn,  was  authorized  to  raise  the 
necessarv  funds   for  the  erection  of  the 


edifice.    During  nine  days  of  patient  wait- 
ing the  Bishop  says  that  he  was  inexpres- 
sibly lonesome — mane  et  vespere  dies  oct- 
avus."     Having  given  up  hope  of  being 
relieved  by  a  passenger  boat,  the  Bishop 
went  aboard  the  out  going  fish-tug  bourn  1 
f(  ir    Saginaw.       Severe  storm    compelled 
them  to  put  into  Harrisville,  only  thirty 
eight  miles  below  Alpena.     Discouraged 
by  the  slow  voyage  and  scant  opportun- 
ities of  getting  out,  the  passengers  deter- 
mined to   walk  to   Sable   River,  eighteen 
miles  distant.   As  much  as  Bishop  Baraga 
would   have   liked   to   go   with   them   his 
weakened  condition  forbade  the  attempt 
Two  days  later  he  was  relieved  of  this  dis- 
agreeable situation  by  the  City  of  Cleve- 
land, and  brought  to  Detroit  April  23rd. 
Xext  day  lie  went  by  rail  to  Cincinnati. 
A  preliminary  meeting  of  the  Council 
took  place  on  Saturday.  April  27th.     All 
prelates   and    theologians   being   present, 
the  work  was  distributed  amongst  them. 
Besides,    the    customary    pastoral    letters 
were  to  be  written  to  the  Supreme  Pon- 
tiff, to  the  Societies   for  the  propagation 
of  Faith  at  Lyons,   Munich  and  Vienna. 
To  Bishop  Baraga  was  allotted  to  write, 
in  the   name  of   the   Council,   to   that   of 
Bavaria,  Die  Central  Direction  des  Lud- 
wig-Mission-Vereincs..     As    his    theolo- 
gians  in    the   council    he    designated    the 
Revs.  J.  B.  Hengehold,  D.  D.  and  J.  B. 
Elkmann,  priests  of  Cincinnati.     He  took 
part  in  all  deliberations,  private  and  pub- 
lic, and  preached  after  the  solemn  Req- 
uiem for  the  deceased  prelates  and  priests. 
Thursday.  May  2nd.     Sunday,  May  5th, 
was  the  solemn  closing  of  the  Council  at 
the  Cathedral. 1    The  same  morning  a  col- 


'  Acta   et   Decrata   sacrorum   Conciliorum   Re- 
centiorum.     Collectio  Lacensis.     Tom.  III. 


170 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


lection  was  taken  up  in  St.  Mary's  church 
for  Bishop  Baraga's  missions  with  a  net 
result  of  seventy-seven  dollars. 

On  his  way  home  Baraga  met  Father 
Angelus  Van  Paemel,  who  was  returning 
from  Europe,  in  Detroit.  They  took  the 
City  of  Detroit  for  the  Sault.  The  ac- 
cumulated mail  contained  much  of  a  disa- 
greeable character.  There  were  com- 
plaints from  priests  and  people;  clamors 
for  pastors  and  teachers.  Who  could 
satisfy  them  all !  The  best  solution  might 
be  a  personal  visit  to  the  missions,  the 
Bishop  thought  and  accordingly  he  sailed, 
the  dav  after  his  arrival  at  home,  on  the 
Illinois.  He  visited  Marquette,  Eagle 
Harbor,  Ontonagon,  La  Pointe,  Minne- 
sota Mine,  Eagle  River  and  Copper  Har- 
bor. He  deemed  only  few  changes  advis- 
able; that  of  Father  Thiele  to  Mackinac, 
Father  Murray  to  Beaver  Island  and 
Father  Andolshek  to  Eagle  Harbor. 

Upon  his  return  to  the  Sault,  the  Bish- 
op found  James  Sweeney  there;  he  was 
now  released  from  all  obligations  to  the 
Jesuit  Society.  The  new  arrival  was  a 
welcome  subject.  At  once  he  was  made 
to  relieve  Father  Terhorst  in  the  school, 
on  whom  the  daily  teaching  had  left  a 
traceable  mark.  He  had  lost  his  youthful 
vivacity,  natural  humor  and  wit  and  lik- 
ened more  to  a  moving  shadow  than  his 
former  self.  Appreciating  the  good  ser- 
vices which  Father  Terhorst  had  rend- 
ered him  in  time  of  need,  the  Bishop  ap- 
pointed him  to  the  pastorate  of  L'Anse 
and  restricted  Father  Jacker's  missionary 
work  to  that  of  Houghton  and  Hancock. 

Father  Van  Paemel  was  retained  in 
the  Sault  in  place  of  Father  Terhorst. 
The  clerical  changes  having  been  disposed 
of,  Baraga  turned  his  attention  to  pro- 


curing teachers.  He  needed  two  of  them 
immediately.  Just  then,  as  luck  would 
have  it,  Mr.  William  Donovan  came,  and 
was  installed  at  the  Sault,  while  James 
Sweeney  was  sent  to  Father  Jacker  to 
commence  his  studies  for  the  priesthood. 

To  obtain  a  teacher  for  Garden  Island, 
the  Bishop  went  in  person  to  Detroit,  not 
because  he  could  not  obtain  one  by  corre- 
spondence, but  because  the  appointment 
had  to  be  secured  through  the  Indian 
agent,  to  insure  the  teacher's  salary.  Ba- 
raga experienced  considerable  red-tapism 
but  finally  succeeded  with  his  application. 
Mr.  Dewitt  C.  Leitch  valued  the  inestima- 
ble services  of  the  venerable  Bishop  in 
civilizing  and  educating  the  children  of 
the  red-skins,  and,  therefore,  readily  fav- 
ored his  request.  Dennis  Harrington  was 
duly  appointed  teacher  of  the  school  in 
Garden  Island.  The  new  appointee  and 
his  protector  sailed  for  Mackinac.  From 
there  they  made  their  way  to  Beaver  Is- 
land and  lastly  to  Garden  Island.  Lo! 
who  could  picture  the  dismay  of  the  Bish- 
op the  Indians  refused  to  accept  the 
teacher.  Baraga  returned  to  Beaver  Is- 
land and  located  his  teacher  there. 

On  account  of  this  disappointment,  the 
Bishop  was  anxious  to  get  away,  the  very 
surroundings  became  odious  to  him.  He 
waited  in  vain  all  day  for  a  boat.  None 
came:  neither  going  down  nor  up.  "If  a 
'Chicago-going  boat  had  come  along  I 
would  have  malheuresement  taken  it." 
So  great  was  his  disgust.  As  still  no  boat 
was  in  sight  the  Bishop  hired  a  man. 
Goudreau,  for  twelve  dollars  to  take  him 
in  a  small  sail-boat  to  Detour.  It  re- 
quired two  days  to  make  the  trip.  Even- 
ings they  would  not  even  land  but  take 
a  short  sleep  in  the  boat  anchored  to  the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


171 


shore.  In  Detour  the  Bishop  spent  the 
first  night  with  John  Stanard;  being 
obliged  to  wait  two  days  for  a  Sault  go- 
ing vessel,  he  accepted  the  invitation  for 
the  second  night,  of  Mr.  Church.  Jr.,  a 
non-Catholic  merchant.  On  June  12th. 
towards  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  the 
Northern  Light  arrived  in  the  Sault  with 
the  Bishop  aboard. 


and  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  there 
was  as  much  fault  on  one  side  as  on  the 
other.  Therefore,  he  concluded  to  leave 
Father  Duroc  in  charge  of  the  congrega- 
tion and  gave  him  the  promise,  in  writing, 
not  to  remove  him  at  least  for  another 
year.  Baraga  also  encountered  another 
subject,  Honoratus  Bourion.  This  young 
student  had  been  adopted  for  the  diocese 


REV.    MATHIAS    ORTH. 


Baraga  remained  at  home  exactly 
twenty-four  hours  to  attend  to  his  letter 
writing.  He  sailed  on  the  City  of  Cleve- 
land directly  for  Marquette.  Pere  Du- 
roc's  relations  to  his  parishioners  had  not 
become  more  amicable ;  petty  animosities 
continued  to  exist.  The  Bishop  gave 
these  frictions  his  personal  investigation. 


through  the  good  offices  of  his  uncle,  and 
he  had  arrived  from  France  on  the  24th  of 
May.  The  scholastic  year  being  too  far 
advanced  he  spent  the  three  months,  in- 
cluding the  vacation,  with  his  relative, 
previous  to  going  to  the  Cincinnati  semi- 
nary. In  Negaunee  Baraga  purchased 
from    Dr.    McKenzie    a    house    at    the 


172 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


saw  mill  for  two  hundred  and  eighty  four 
dollars,  with  the  intention  of  moving  it 
on  the  lot  where  the  church  was  built. 
The  church  lot  was  permitted  to  pass  into 
his  possession  for  the  twenty-five  dollars 
which  he  had  paid  the  preceding  summer. 
From  Marquette  the  Bishop  extended 
his  pastoral   visitation  to   the   Lake   Su- 
perior missions.     First  he  stopped  off  at 
Portage  Lake,  to  see  how  the  new  church 
at     Hancock     was     progressing.      John 
Burns,    the    contractor,    had    not    com- 
menced the  church  in  the  fall  as  the  Bish- 
op desired,  but  only  in  the  spring,  and 
now  was  hustling  the  job  to  completion. 
When  Baraga  arrived  the  building  was  so 
far  advanced  that  he  could  set  the  day  for 
dedication.     Meanwhile  he  went  to  Eagle 
Harbor,  Cliff,  Bayfield.  La  Pointe,  Bad 
River,  Ontonagon,  Minnesota  Mine  and 
Maple   Grove.      In   Rockland   he  conse- 
crated the  cemetery  on  Sunday,  July  21st. 
The  same  day  he  also  adopted  Frederick 
Eis,  a  student  for  the  diocese.    By  way  of 
Ontonagon  he  returned  to  Portage  and 
gave  confirmation  in  Houghton.     At  the 
Masses  the  dedication  of  the  new  church 
across  the  Portage  was  duly  announced 
for  the  coming   Sunday.     There  was  a 
week's  time  ahead  of  it ;  Baraga  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  spend  it  in  his  first  mis- 
sion at  L'Anse.     He  loved  that  place,  the 
field  of  his  first  labors  within  the  territory 
"  of  his  now  diocese;  he  loved  the  people, 
for  most  of  that  generation  he  had  chris- 
tianized himself;  he  loved  the  pastor  not 
less,  his  last  ordained,  who  had  proven 
himself  worthy  of  all  the  paternal  favors. 
Gratified  by  the  healthy  growth  of  the 
mission    which    he    had    started    almost 
twenty    years    ago,    he    returned    light- 
hearted  to  bless  the  new  church  of  Han- 


cock. Another  happy  day!  Amidst  a 
great  concourse  of  people  of  all  creeds 
and  nationalities,  surrounded  by  priests 
and  clerics,  he  dedicated  the  edifice  to  the 
patroness,  St.  Anne,  Sunday,  the  4th  of 
August.  At  the  Pontifical  Highmass  he 
was  assisted  by  Father  Fox,  Jacker,  and 
Terhorst,  and  the  clerics  Flannigan  and 
Sweeney. 

The  tour  through  the  southern  mis- 
sions did  not  develop  anything  extraor- 
dinary. It  proved  to  be  more  satisfactory 
than  at  the  visit  of  a  year  ago.  Baraga 
writes:  "It  is  now  three  months  since  I 
made  my  last  report  to  the  Leopoldine 
Society.  Since  then  many  things  pleasing 
to  a  Christian  have  occurred  in  this  dio- 
cese. I  visited  the  southern  part  of  this 
diocese,  where  our  most  important  In- 
dian missions  are  located.  The  popula- 
tion keeps  constantly  growing.  Especially 
has  the  mission  in  Cross  Village  increased 
rapidly,  so  that  its  church  is  much  too 
small.  We  therefore  resolved,  the  last 
time  I  was  there,  to  enlarge  it  consider- 
ablv.  I  encouraged  the  Indians  to  work 
at  it  themselves,  in  order  not  to  be  obliged 
to  hire  high-priced  carpenters.  The  In- 
dians of  this  mission,  who  were  converted 
a  long  time  ago,  can  work  well.  They 
build  their  own  houses  and  make  their 
own  boats. 

"In  the  neighboring  village,  Middle 
Village,  they  are  also  under  the  pleasing 
and  consoling  necessity  of  enlarging 
their  church.  The  Indians  belonging  to 
this  mission  have  shown  themselves  will- 
ing to  do  so.  This  coming  winter  they 
will  make  all  necessary  preparation  for 
the  work."2    Father  Thiele,  of  Mackinac, 


2  Letter  to  Leopoldine  Society,  Nov.   11,  1861. 
Verwyst. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


173 


expressed  his  great  desire  to  be  returned 
to  Eagle  Harbor;  as  his  wishes  fortu- 
nately coincided  with  those  of  the  Bishop, 
he  was  allowed  to  take  his  old  parish. 
From  Eagle  Harbor  Father  Andolshek 
came  to  the  Sault  with  the  intention  of 
joining  the  Redemptorist  Fathers.  He 
left  September,  17th.  September  19th, 
the  Bishop  records  in  his  journal.  "Paras- 
ceve  for  the  mission  of  St.  Joseph,  Indian 
Reserve."  It  was  a  Parasceve,  and  not 
only  that  day  but  ever  since  last  spring 
when  the  Bishop  had  resolved  to 
build  the  church.  We  have  found 
much  detailed  account  of  other  churches, 
but  not  since  his  elevation  to  the 
episcopate  has  the  Bishop  shown  so 
much  enthusiasm  and  taken  personal 
interest  in  the  construction  of  any 
church.  This  church  is  located  on  the 
east  shore  of  Sugar  Island,  some  twenty 
miles  from  the  Sault.  There  was  only 
a  handful  of  Indians,  but  precisely  on  ac- 
count of  their  isolation,  the  Bishop 
thought  that  they  should  have  a  small 
church  where  they  could  gather  for  their 
devotions  in  common,  and  where  the  mis- 
sionary could  occasionally  say  Mass  for 
them.  On  the  .20th  of  September  Baraga 
went  down  to  Payment — eight  miles 
from  the  Sault — most  likely  in  a  small 
sail  boat,  and  from  there  drove  along  the 
shore,  over  miserable  roads,  in  pouring 
rain,  to  his  idolized  little  church.  He  vis- 
ited personally  every  hut,  Christian  or 
Pagan,  and  asked  the  latter  whether  or 
not  they  would  be  willing  to  accept  Chris- 
tianity. The  result  was  most  pleasing. 
The  small  church  was  thronged  with 
Christians  and  heathens,  eager  to  listen 
and  to  learn  from  the  lips  of  their  much 
beloved    Kitchi-Mekatewekwenaie.      The 


scene  awoke  in  the  heart  of  the  old  Bishop 
memories  of  the  past  and  with  them  the 
youthful,  untiring  zeal  for  the  Indian. 
As  the  church  was  still  bare  and  devoid  of 
any  ornament,  upon  his  return  to  the 
Sault  the  Bishop  set  to  work  on  a  taber- 
nacle, baptismal  font,  and  a  book  stand; 
he  framed  for  the  altar  a  set  of  canon- 
cards,  a  set  of  stations  and  many  other 
useful  things.  With  his  own  hands  he 
labored  on  this  furniture,  day  after  day, 
for  three  weeks.  Transporting  it  with 
great  care  to  the  mission,  he  set  each  piece 
in  its  place.  As  the  crowning  act  of  his 
labors  he  dedicated  the  church  on  Sunday 
the  27th  day  of  October,  celebrated  Mass, 
performed  the  stations  of  the  Way  of  the 
Cross  in  the  afternoon,  and  gave  a  long 
instruction  in  the  evening.  Another  whole 
week  he  spent  there  preparing  children 
and  adults  for  their  first  holy  commun- 
ion. Thus  Baraga  celebrated  his  8th  an- 
niversary of  consecration  among  his  In- 
dians ! 

Father  Van  Paemel,  the  only  priest  at 
the  Sault.  on  account  of  his  ailments,  had 
requested  the  Bishop  to  be  relieved  of  his 
position  in  order  to  return  again  to  his 
native  Belgium,  for  the  restoration  of  his 
health.  The  request  was  granted,  and  he 
left  on  the  7th  of  November,  to  the  great 
regret  of  his  Bishop.  Another  priest  was 
not  in  sight,  and  alone,  he  could  not  af- 
ford to  be  over  the  long  winter.  He 
called  his  seminarian  Honoratus  Bourion 
from  Cincinnati  to  prepare  him  for  ordi- 
nation. Young  Bourion  arrived  October 
30th,  received  minor  orders  November 
15th,  Subdeaconship,  Sunday,  November 
17th,  Diaconate  on  the  24th,  and  the 
Presbyterate  during  the  first  Mass,  on 
Sundav  the  first  of  December.     On  the 


174 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


second  Sunday  of  Advent,  the  feast  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  he  sang  his  first 
Mass.     The  Bishop  preached  in  French. 

We  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  re- 
cording here  a  droll  story,  which  the  late 
Father  Bourion  loved  to  tell.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  the  Sault,  the  Bishop  asked  him 
whether  he  would  be  satisfied  to  eat  from 
his  episcopal  table  of  the  same  fare  he  had 
for  himself.  One  year's  residence  in  the 
United  States  and  the  wild  country 
through  which  he  passed  to  arrive  in  the 


KEV.    EDMUND    WALSH,   DIED   IN    FORT 
HOWARD.     WIS. 

Sault.  had  not  effaced  from  his  mind  the 
French  notion  of  a  Bishop's  life.  Conse- 
quently, he  most  willingly  consented  to 
partake  of  whatever  was  good  enough  for 
a  bishop.  He  was  not  aware  that  the 
venerable  Ordinary  had  not  tasted  meat 
for  nine  years  previous  to  their  meeting, 
nor  even  after.  In  the  morning  it  was  a 
cup  of  coffee  and  bread ;  at  noon  bread 
and  potato-soup,  and  in  the  evening  po- 


tato-soup and  bread,  or  something  equi- 
valent. He  stood  the  ordeal  one  month, 
but  then  noticed  that  there  was  consider- 
able room  beneath  his  vest  also  for  some 
meat.  He  mustered  sufficient  courage  to 
request  the  Bishop  to  have  a  little  meat, 
of  any  kind,  inserted  in  the  menu.  "Did 
I  not  ask  you  in  the  beginning  whether 
you  are  willing  to  eat  with  me,  and  you 
said  'yes'  "  queried  the  Bishop.  "Most 
assuredly  1  did,  retorted  Father  Bourion, 
but  I  did  not  know  that  there  would  be 
roasted  potatoes  (coffee)  for  breakfast, 
cooked  for  dinner  and  warmed  up  for 
supper."  "Well  then,  replied  the  Bishop, 
if  you  are  not  satisfied,  you  may  have 
your  meat  but  you  will  be  obliged  to  have 
it  cooked  extra  for  yourself."  Under 
December  qth  we  find  in  the  Bishop's 
journal :  "Pretty  cold  and  much  snow. 
Father  Bourion  got  himself  a  quarter  of 
beef,  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds.  We 
will  see  how  long  it  will  last.  He  has  also 
two  geese."  We  divine  that  Caspar  also 
was  secretly  happy  over  the  insertion  of 
beef  into  somebody's  bill  of  fare,  for 
"the  whelps  also  eat  of  the  crumbs  that 
fall  from  the  table  of  their  masters." 
(Matt.  15.27.) 

1862 
Bishop  Baraga  commenced  this  year 
with  occasional  excurisons  to  Indian  set- 
tlements. In  January  he  visited  Sailor's 
Encampment  and  other  stray  habitations 
along  this  route.  He  still  had  it  in  his 
mind  that  not  all  possible  was  being  done 
for  them.  Particularly  he  had  in  view  the 
settlements  on  St.  Martin's  Bay  and  an- 
other on  Goulais  Bay,  Canada.  The  lat- 
ter was  christianized  but  only  seldom 
visited  by  a  passing-by  missionary,  and 
the    former   was    inhabited    by   obdurate 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


175 


heathens.       The     fact    that    they    were 
known  to  resist  all  Christian  persuasion, 
stimulated  the  Bishop's  zeal  all  the  more. 
Under  great  hardships  he  made  his  way 
thither.      Even   the   promise  of   a   chapel 
was  no  inducement  to  them.     The  chief 
openly  declared  that  he  would  never  em- 
brace Christianity.     The  Goulais  Bay  In- 
dians  were   rewarded    for   their   docility 
with  a  promise  of  a  new  chapel.     Upon 
his  arrival  at  the  Sault  he  made  arrange- 
»  ments  for  the  transportation  of  the  neces- 
sary    material,     hired     two     carpenters. 
Tames  Prior  and  Fabian  Lendreville,  who 
finished  the  small  chapel  in  seventeen  days. 
By  the  time  the  Bishop  extricated  him- 
self   from   the   surrounding   Indian   mis- 
sion, it  got  to  be  mid-summer  and  highest 
time  for  his  annual  visitations.     He  de- 
layed no  longer.     June  12th  he  went  on 
the  Traveller  to  Portage  Lake.    In  a  brief 
interview  Father  Jacker  urged  the  ordi- 
nation of  Mr.  Sweeney.     In  view  of  his 
short  study  the  Bishop  took  the  case  under 
advisement,  and  continued  his  journey  to 
Ontonagon  and   from  thence  to   Minne- 
si  ita  .Mine.     Father  Fox  was  out  on  mis- 
sion and  the  Bishop  held  all  usual  services 
the  following  day,  it  being  Trinity  Sun- 
day.    In  the  afternoon  Father  Fox  came 
home  and  the  two  walked  to  Maplegrove, 
where  they  remained  over  night  at  Flan- 
nigan's.     As  there  was  to  be  a  first  holy 
Communion  at  the  Minnesota  Mine,  and 
at  Ontonagon,  the  Bishop  was  persauded 
to  remain  and  give  Confirmation  at  the 
same  time.     On  Corpus  Christi  he  con- 
firmed in  St.  Patrick's  church  at  Ontona- 
gon a  class  of  seventeen,  and  the  follow- 
ing   Sunday,    second   after    Pentecost,   a 
class  of   forty   in   St.    Mary's   church   at 
Rockland.      That   same   Sunday   Mr.    P. 


M.  Flannigan  arrived  from  Montreal 
and  he  became  another  subject  for  ordi- 
nation. It  was  agreed  that  the  young- 
candidate  for  Holy  Orders  would  meet 
the  bishop  in  Hancock,  whither  he  would 
come  after  his  visit  to  the  Eagle  Harbor 
mission.  Thursday,  June  26th,  Baraga 
arrived  in  Hancock.  The  subject  of 
James  Sweeney's  ordination  was  broached 
again,  but  with  still  no  definite  result. 
Upon  these  deliberations  broke  in  Rev. 
Michael  McLaughlin,  from  Chicago,  with 
a  request  to  be  taken  in  to  the  diocese. 
On  account  of  his  thorough  knowledge  of 
French,  the  Bishop  favorably  considered 
his  application  and  sent  him  on  the  out- 
going steamer  to  the  Sault.  But  this  un- 
expected intermezzo  did  not  accelerate 
the  solution  of  the  bishop's  hesitation. 
On  Sunday,  his  65'th  birthday,  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Baraga  gave  P. 
M.  Flannigan  the  tonsure  and  the  four 
minor  orders.  Failing  to  associate  his 
client  with  Mr.  Flannigan,  Father  Jacker 
redoubled  his  efforts  and  won  out.  After 
a  brief  visit  to  L'Anse  for  the  purpose  of 
inspecting  the  new  house  which  Father 
Terhorst  was  building,  the  Bishop  re- 
turned to  St.  Ana's  and  on  Thursday, 
July  3rd,  conferred  upon  James  Sweeney. 
before  mass,  the  tonsure  and  the  four 
minor  orders.     , 

In  the  Sault  Bishop  Baraga  found  two 
friends  awaiting  him;  the  Jesuit  Father 
Hannipaux,  who  for  many  years  was 
stationed  at  Garden  River  and  a  check 
from  Paris  to  the  amount  of  fourteen 
hundred  twenty-eight  dollars.  We  will 
not  presume  to  judge  which  he  welcomed 
most.  A  short  inspection  tour  was  de- 
voted to  the  Baie-de-Goulais  church. 
The  two  French  carpenters  had  done  sc 


176 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


excellent  a  job  on  the  small  structure  that 
it  pleased  the  Bishop  exceedingly.  He  at 
once  formed  the  plan  to  take  them  down  to 
Alpena  and  have  them  put  up  the  new 
church  there.  Before  he  would  enter 
upon  this  venture,  however,  he  thought 
it  advisable  to  investigate  how  far  the 
collections,  instituted  a  year  ago,  had  ad- 
vanced. By  way  of  Mackinac  he  reached 
Duncan  where  Father  Murry  was  ac- 
cidentally found  instructing  a  class  of 
children  for  first  holy  Communion.  In 
St.  Alary's,  Sheboygan,  Baraga  con- 
firmed this  class,  on  Sunday,  July  27th. 
To  obtain  a  better  opportunity  for  a  boat 
to  Thunderbay,  the  Bishop  returned  to 
Mackinac.  But  this  time  his  plans  mis- 
carried. He  found  a  boat  for  Port  Huron 
instead,  but  after  lounging  around  the 
town  he  learned  that  there  was  no  vessel 
available  for  Alpena,  and  he  journeyed  to 
Detroit.  No  good  came  out  of  this  long 
trip,  except  that  Bishop  Lefevere  paid 
him  the  annual  stipend  of  two  hundred 
dollars  for  the  sustenance  of  missionaries 
whom  Baraga  maintained  in  Lower- 
Michigan  territory. 

On  the  sixth  of  August  the  Bishop  ar- 
rived again  in  Mackinac.  He  visited  all  his 
lower  point  missions  in  an  Indian  sail- 
boat he  also  paid  a  friendly  visit  to  Pere 
Piret  at  St.  Ignace  and  returned  to  the 
Sault  on  the  slow  steamer  Backus.  In  the 
mails  was  a  friendly  greeting  from  the 
Leopoldine  Society  in  the  shape  of 
a  draft  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
dollars.  Another  surprise  was  in  store 
for  him!  Father  Gaes,  whom  he  had  ex- 
pected over  two  years,  had  arrived  from 
Munich  and  on  the  5th  of  September  was 
sent  to  Mackinac  to  take  charge  of  that 
parish. 


Through  a  long  correspondence  Father 
Fox  of  the  Minnesota  Mine,  had  induced 
the  Ursuline  nuns  to  open  an  Academy 
in  his  now  flourishing  parish.  As  it  were 
to  condone  for  the  abandoned  unprofit- 
able field  at  Sault  Sainte  Marie,  they  ac- 
cepted the  proposition.  They  arrived  in 
the  Sault  on  the  14th  of  September,  on 
the  Illinois,  and  left  with  the  same  boat 
for  their  destination.  On  the  same  day, 
to  the  great  surprise  of  the  Bishop,  the 
two  clerics,  Flannigan  and  Sweeney,  ar- 
rived, who  had  been  sent  to  Milwaukee 
to  complete  their  theology.  The  Civil 
War  had  robbed  most  of  the  institutions 
of  their  higher  students;  those  who  had 
not  been  already  drafted  into  the  army-, 
were  afraid  to  return  to  their  benches  on 
account  of  the  enforced  conscription,  thus 
many  a  hall  of  learning  remained  closed. 

The  Seminary  of  St.  Francis  was  not 
an  exception.  The  theology  course  was 
suspended,  and  the  two  students  returned 
home.  The  Bishop  was  much  perplexed 
what  to  do  with  them.  The  conditions 
were  about  the  same  all  over  the  States. 
He  either  had  to  send  them  to  Canada  or 
ordain  them.  He  chose  the  latter,  and 
the  following  morning,  Monday,  Septem- 
ber 15th,  he  conferred  sub-deaconship, 
and  on  the  16th  deaconship  upon  Mr. 
Flannigan,  while  he  still  hesitated  about 
Mr.  Sweeney  who  was  not  as  well  ad- 
vanced. But  finally  he  decided  to  ordain 
both.  On  the  17th  he  gave  to  Mr. 
Sweeney  sub-deaconate  and  on  iSth 
deaconate.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the 
19th  and  immediately  sent  to  Hancock. 
P.  M.  Flannigan,  who  wished  to  be  raised 
to  priesthood  in  his  parish  church  at  the 
Minnesota  Mine,  also  left  for  home  on  the 
day  of  his  elevation  to  the  deaconate. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


177 


As  difficult  as  it  was  to  build  churches 
it  was  more  difficult  to  provide  them  with 
pastors.  The  people  usually  expected  a 
priest  as  soon  as  they  had  completed  a 
church  of  their  own.  It  was  this  urgent 
need  of  priests  that  compelled  the  Bishop 
often  to  shorten  the  customary  curriculum 
of  his  own  students  and  frequently  to  re- 
ceive into  the  diocese  strange  priests. 
With  the  establishment  of  the  new  Acad- 
emy at  Ontonagon  it  became  of  necessity 
that  the  place  should  have  its  own  resident 
pastor,  as  Father  Fox  had  two  other 
places  to  attend,  besides  his  very  populous 
parish  at  the  Minnesota  Mine.  Towards 
the  end  of  September  Father  Konen  was 
accepted  and  sent  to  Ontonagon.  He  re- 
mained there,  however,  only  till  Novem- 
ber, when  he  was  called  to  Eagle  Harbor 
to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by  the  leaving 
of  Father  Thiele  who,  at  his  own  request, 
received  the  exeat  and  left  the  diocese  on 
th  19th  of  October. 

During  September  and  October.  Bish- 
op Baraga  visited  his  Indian  missions  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Sault,  particular- 
ly those  where  new  churches  had  been 
recently  erected.  He  was  still  busy 
equipping  the  Baie  de  Goulais  church,  and 
was  personally  making  the  tabernacle, 
stations,  and  such  other  things  similar 
to  those  furnished  for  St.  Joseph's  church 
on  Sugar  Island.  He  also  purchased  a 
steel-bell  and  dedicated  the  church  to  the 
honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  of  Seven 
Dolors,  on  the  feast  itself,  September 
28th. 

Caspar  Schulte  proved  to  be  a  faithful 
servant.  Among  the  continual  changes 
of  new  and  old  priests,  who  were  going 
and  coming,  it  delighted  the  old  Bishop 
to    see    his    valet    immutably    the    same. 


More,  to  confirm  him  in  his  persever- 
ance than  to  bestow  upon  him  any  distinct 
clerical  mark,  the  Bishop  decided  to  enroll 
him  among  the  clerics  by  giving  him 
tonsure  and  two  of  the  minor  orders. 
After  a  due  retreat  of  three  days  Caspar 
received,  on  the  21st  of  October,  tonsure, 
the  order  of  ostiariate  and  that  of  acolyte. 
[Grateful  for  this  distinction,  Caspar,  of  his 


rev.  william  dwyer,  at  present  chaplain 
of     st.     Joseph's     hospital,     tacoma, 
washington. 

own  impulses,  on  Sunday,  October  26th, 
emitted  into  the  hands  of  his  Bishop  the 
perpetual  vow  of  celibacy. 

The  ninth  anniversary  of  consecration 
Bishop  Baraga  spent  at  the  mission  of  St. 
Joseph.  He  had  in  his  mind  again  to 
visit  the  Goulais  mission,  but  upon  his 
return  to  the  Sault  found  it  imperative  to 
go  to  Ontonagon.     This  turn  of  things 


178 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


suited  well  enough  also  another  purpose, 
that  of  Flannigan's  ordination.  He  took 
the  Northern  Light,  on  November  4th, 
but  this  voyage  proved  to  be  a  long  and 
tedious  one.  Floating  ice  and  bad 
weather  delayed  them  at  White-fish  Point, 
thirty-six  hours.  They  arrived  in  Han- 
cock on  the  "th  at  4  p.  m.  On  the  boat 
he  had  already  experienced  a  weakness 
which  compelled  him  to  discontinue  the 
journey  at  this  port.  Father  Jacker  re- 
ceived him  cordially  and  cared  for  him 
most  devotedly.  He  used  his  influence  and 
persuasive  power  for  a  discontinuance  of 
the  journey,  urging  the  enfeebled  Bishop 
to  remain  at  St.  Ann's  till  he  should  have 
recovered  his  strength.  This  marked 
solicitude  was  agreeable  enough  to  Bara- 
ga, but  duty  forbade  inactivity  just  at  this 
juncture. 

The  season  was  far  advanced  towards 
the  winter;  all  the  boats  were  up  and  in 
less  than  a  week's  time  they  would  be  bid- 
ding their  farewell  along  the  ports  of  Lake 
Superior.     On  Sunday,  November  9.  the 
Iron  City,  on  her  last  trip  down,  brought 
Rev.  P.  M.  Flannigan  to  Hancock.     He 
was  a  deacon  and  came  down  with  the  in- 
tention   of    returning    to    the    seminary. 
Father   Jacker   suggested   his   immediate 
ordination,  but  the  Bishop  little  favored 
the    proposition,    while    Rev.    Flannigan 
himself  strenuously  opposed  it.    In  course 
of  the  evening  the  Bishop  allowed  himself 
to  be  persuaded  that  the  scarcity  of  priests 
would  not  only  allow  but  even  demand 
the   shortening  of   the   student's   course, 
particularly    in   this   instance   where   the 
subject  had  already  had  a  good  course. 
Not  being  able  to  resist  the  persistence  of 
Father  Jacker,  and  respecting  the  wish  of 
the  Bishop,  Rev.  Flannigan  consented  to 


his  ordination  but  reminded  the  Bishop  of 
the  promise  he  had  made  to  his  mother  to 
ordain  him  in  the  parish  church  of  Rock- 
land.   To  this  the  Bishop  agreed.    On  the 
morning  of  October  10th  after  celebrating 
Mass  early,  the  Bishop  started  afoot  from 
Hancock  for  the  Minnesota  Mine.     Ac- 
companied by  Father  Jacker  and  P.  M. 
Flannigan  he  ferried  across  the  Portage 
to  the  Houghton  side  and  briskly  struck 
the  Ontonagon  road.     For  a  while  they 
all  marched  well ;  the  muddy  road  and  the 
six-mile  hill  had  done  their  work;  Bara- 
ga's weakness  returned.     All  day  long, 
supported  on  one  side  by  Father  Jacker 
and  on  the  other  by  Flannigan,  he  wearied 
alonsr   over   the   hills   and   dales   of   the 
primeval  forest.     Exhausted,  the  trio  ar- 
rived at  the  half-way  house  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night.    From  this  point  the  country  be- 
ing more   level,  the  walking  was   much 
better;     they     reached      Maple     Grove, 
Flannigan's  home,  at  five  o'clock  next  day. 
The  following  forning  after  celebrating 
Mass,  the  last  seven  of  the  forty  miles 
were  made  with  as  much  leisure  as  possi- 
ble. Minnesota  Mine  was  reached  at  eleven 
o'clock.      The   happy   completion   of   the 
journey  could  not  but  imbue  the  venerable 
Bishop  with  new  strength.     After  a  few 
hours'   rest  he   drove  unaccompanied  to 
Ontonagon  and  stayed  over  night  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  Schick,  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing two   days  he  accepted  the  hospital- 
ity of  the  Sisters  in  the  Academy. 

That  our  readers  might  not  wonder 
why  the  Bishop  did  not  remain  as  the 
guest  of  Father  Fox,  we  must  add,  in 
explanation,  that  the  rectory  was  so  small 
and  contained  but  one  bed  and  that  on  this 
occasion  there  were  four  persons  having 
lesral  claim  to  it. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


179 


The  ordination  of  P.  M.  Flannigan  was 
set  for  Sunday,  November  16th.  On 
Saturday,  previous,  Baraga  returned  to 
the  Minnesota  Mine.  This  night  the 
Bishop's  presence  precluded  all  contests 
for  the  only  bedstead.  Father  Jacker,  as 
the  next  guest  in  honor,  took  possession 
of  an  old  lounge,  Father  Fox  settled 
for  the  night  on  the  bare  floor,  unfortun- 
ately selecting  the  door  leading  to  the 
episcopal  bedroom  for  a  pillow  and  was 
early  in  the  morning,  at  three  o'clock, 
when  the  Bishop  opened  his  door,  un- 
ceremoniously disturbed  in  his  slumbers. 
The  neo-ordinandus  lodged  at  the  neigh- 
bors and  the  student  Frederick  Eis,  the 
present  bishop  at  Marquette,  did  not  sleep 
at  all,  or  if  he  did,  he  stole  his  sleep  under 
the  trees  in  the  grave-yard.  But  we  reckon 
and  are  willing  to  believe  that  he  did  not 
sleep  that  night,  for  at  nine  o'clock  Satur- 
day night  there  was  not  a  piece  of  meat 
nor  a  morsel  of  bread  in  the  house,  and 
yet  both  had  to  be  provided  for  the  feast. 
Father  Fox  owned  a  four-month-old  calf 
which  he  had  received  from  somebody  as 
contribution.  To  provide  a  feast  for  his 
guests  on  the  occasion,  he  ordered  the 
student  Eis  and  another  boy  from  the 
location  to  kill  the  calf.  The  execution 
took  place  under  the  tree  in  front  of  the 
lectory.  By  the  time  the  good  Bishop  got 
up  the  flayed  carcass  of  the  calf  was  cool- 
ing in  the  November  breeze  of  a  Lake 
Superior  wind.  Not  knowing  of  the 
student's  night-toil,  the  Bishop  chartered 
his  services  for  the  necessary  preparations 
in  the  church.  First  the  throne  was 
erected  and  curtained  with  cheese-cloth. 
To  improvise  a  chair  an  old  bench  was 
sawed  in  two  and  one  half  placed  on  the 
throne   and    the   other   half   used    for   a 


faldistorium.  Nails,  hammer,  and  pins  as 
well  as  the  cheese-cloth  were  provided 
from  the  Bishop's  carpet-bag.  With  the 
break  of  day  everything  was  ready  for 
ordination  in  church  and  pantry,  only  the 
latter  still  lacked  the  bread,  which  article 
Father  Fox  supplied  by  begging  two 
loaves,  from  the  neighbors.  At  ten 
o'clock  Baraga  celebrated  Pontifical  High- 
Mass  and  raised  P.  M.  Flannigan  to  the 
priesthood.  It  was  the  first  ordination 
outside  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  diocese 
and  justly  much  importance,  as  well  as 


CHURCH    OF    STS.    PETER    AND    PAUL,    GREENLAND, 
MICHIGAN. 

solemnity,  was  attached  to  the  occasion 
which  drew  masses  of  people  from  the 
Ontonagon  valley.  Nor  would  the  Bishop 
countenance  that  even  the  cooks  should  be 
prevented,  by  preparing  the  dinner,  from 
witnessing  the  ordination ;  he  was  content 
to  wait  after  the  ceremonies  in  the  church, 
until  some  young  ladies  prepared  the 
festival  spread. 

There  was  but  one  boat  still  up  the 
lake;  not  to  miss  this  last  opportunity, 
Baraga    departed    from    the    Minnesota 


180 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Aline   on   the   day   of    ordination.      The 
Sisters  at  Ontonagon  most  tenderly  cared 
for  him  during  his  day  and  a  half  wait 
for  the  boat.    On  the  17th,  at  seven  in  the 
morning  the  Mineral  Rock  made  her  last 
call  in  the  port.     The  worn  form  of  the 
venerable    Bishop    moved    Captain    Mc- 
Kay's heart  and  he  tendered  him  his  own 
cabin    for    the    voyage    which    he    knew 
would  be  unusually  prolonged  on  account 
of   the   much    freight    loading.      On   the 
27th  of  November,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  they  put  into  dock  at  the  Sault. 
At   home   most   depressing   facts   con- 
fronted   him.      Father    McLaughlin    was 
being  accused  of  too  great  a  love  for  in- 
toxicants.    Rather  than  to  face  any  pos- 
sible scandal,  the  Bishop  would  risk  the 
probability  of  being  left  alone  all  winter, 
and  sent  the  priest  away.     Baraga  now 
keenly  regretted  having  permitted  Father 
Bourion  to  take  up  the  mission  at  Ne- 
gaunee,  and  was  on  the  point  of  recalling 
him,  but  the  thought  that  many  people 
of   that  prosperous   iron  mining   district 
would  be  without  religious  services,  de- 
cided him  to  shoulder  the  burden  of  the 
Sault  parish  for  the  ensuing  winter.     To 
make  this  outlook  more  dreary  even,  the 
faithful    Caspar   showed   signs      of   dis- 
contentment   and    threatened    to    leave. 
Father  Gaes,  of  the  Mackinac  Island  mis- 
sion,  also  had  left  for  Minnesota.   Amidst 
these  distressing  occurrences  of  his  epis- 
copate, Baraga  again  took  up  the  ordinary 
duties  of  a  priest  during  the  winter  season. 
On  week  days  he  would  attend  to  numer- 
ous Indian  missions,  and  on  Sunday  say 
two  Masses  at  home,  preach  two  and  three 
sermons,  and  often  in  as  many  languages, 
and   perform  the   incidental   duties   of  a 
pastor. 


1863. 
The  new  year  of   1863   found  Bishop 
Baraga  occupied  with  pastoral  and  mis- 
sionary duties.     He  found  it  burdensome 
to  the  extreme  to  be   without  a  priest. 
Caspar's  malicious  sickness  had  deprived 
him  even  of  the  help  he  was  wont  to  give. 
Thus  all  kind  of  work  had  to  be  done  by 
the  Bishop  himself  from  the  kindling  of 
his  own  fires  to  the  sacred  functions  and 
sick  calls  which  often  took  him  to  far-off 
places.     "This  is  most  burdensome  for  me 
in  my  old  years.     The  other  day  I  had  a 
sick  call  twenty  miles  -away.     An  Indian 
girl    became    dangerously    ill,    and    her 
good  mother  was  much  alarmed  lest  her 
daughter    should    die    without    receiving 
the  holy  sacraments.      She  sent  for  me 
and  I  went  there  on  a  bitter  cold  day. 
There  are  many  villages  ten,  twelve  and 
fifteen  miles  distant  which  I  must  often 
visit.      But    above    all    the    thought    de- 
presses me  that  there  is  no  end  of  these 
troubles  in  sight,  for  I  do  not  know  when 
I  shall  get  a  priest  for  the  Sault.     Each 
one  of  my  fifteen  priests  is  so  necessary 
in  his  own  place  that  I  cannot  with  good 
conscience,  take  him  away.    I  must  there- 
fore hold  out  till  kind  Providence  sends 
me  a  good  and  suitable  priest."  3     Provi- 
dence was  rather  slow  sending  relief.  The 
day  after  the  above  letter  was  written, 
happened  to  be  Holy  Thursday  and  the  old 
Bishop  was  obliged  to  consecrate  the  oils 
without  any  assistance.     He  had  indeed 
made   application   to   other   bishops,   but 
most  of  them  were  as  helpless  as  himself. 
Pleading  for  the  loan  of  a  priest  he  winds 
up  his  letter  to  Bishop  Lefevere  with  this 
tearful  sentence :     "Could  not  your  Lord- 
ship let  me  have  one  of  your  priests  at 

3  Letter  April  2,   1863.     Dr.  Voncina. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


181 


least  for  one  year?"4  These  and  the 
like  appeals  to  his  fellow-bishops  brought 
no  relief.  Spring  had  opened  up  naviga- 
tion and  June,  though  very  cold,  had 
stirred  everything  to  activity,  only  Bara- 
ga was  still  held  down  by  his  hibernal 
routine  of  work.  There  were  his  mis- 
sions awaiting  the  annual  visitation.  Re- 
lief must  come !  Entrusting  the  parish 
to  Father  Kohler  the  Bishop  embarked, 
June  ioth,  on  the  Planet,  for  Detroit, 
firmly  determined  not  to  return  till  he 
shall  have  found  a  solution  to  the  dis- 
agreeable  dilemma    which    had    enslaved 


THE     OLD     FLANNIGAN     HOME-STEAD     AT     GREEN- 
LAND,     WHERE     BISHOP     BARAGA     OFTEN     EN- 
JOYED   THE    HOSPITALITY    OF    THAT    FAMILY. 

him  the  last  nine  months.  What  he  could 
not  obtain  by  pen  and  ink  he  hoped  to 
effect  by  his  live  word  of  mouth.  How- 
ever, such  subjects  as  he  sought  were  not 
superabundant  in  Detroit  either.  From 
the  Indian  agent  he  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment for  Mr.  Donovan  as  teacher  in 
L'Anse;  adopted  Michael  Heuss,  a  stud- 
ent for  his  diocese,  but  could  make  onlv 


*  Letter  Jan.  17,  1863,  In  the  archives  of  Notre 
Dame  University. 


conditional  arrangements  with  Revs. 
August  Durst  and  Peter  Andre,  both  of 
whom,  upon  visiting  the  country  and  see- 
ine  its  conditions,  refused  to  stav.  Thus 
this  resolute  trip  to  Detroit  bore  but  little 
fruit,  and  left  the  Bishop  in  as  helpless  a 
ci  nidition  as  before.  Still  a  remedy  had 
to  be  found,  and  found  at  once  because 
the  season  was  advancing  fast  and  the 
annual  visits  of  the  diocese  had  to  be 
made.  In  this  need  he  turned  to  his  old 
friends  the  Jesuits.  Father  J.  Blettner.  S. 
J.,  relieved  him  in  the  Sault  during  the 
summer  months,  while  Baraga  went  about 
his  business.  He  first  gave  his  attention 
to  the  printing,  or  rather  reprinting  of  an 
Indian  prayer-book  and  for  this  purpose 
had  travelled  to  Cincinnati.  There  things 
looked  very  much  warlike  and  desolate, 
cannons  and  soldiers  being  everywhere. 
He  did  not  tarry  in  Cincinnati  longer  than 
necessary,  and  with  a  feeling  of  longing 
returned  to  his  distant,  quiet  diocese 
where  war  was  fought  only  in  the  news- 
papers. 

From  Cincinnati  he  had  written  to  the 
Leopoldine  Society,  among  others.  "In 
my  diocese  everything  continues  in  its 
usual,  quiet  way.  Churches  and  congre- 
gations keep  on  increasing,  but  unfortun- 
ately the  number  of  my  priests  increases 
but  slowly.  We  suffer  much  from  the 
want  of  priests.  Unless  a  priest  has  a 
little  of  the  missionary  spirit,  he  will  not 
like  to  go  so  far  north ;  such  priests  pre- 
fer to  remain  in  the  more  civilized  states. 
But  the  few  that  are  in  my  diocese,  fifteen 
in  number,  are,  thanks  be  to  God,  good 
priests,  faithful  and  zealous  laborers  in 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  and  each  of 
them  has  several  stations  to  attend.  Five 
of    them    are    Indian    missionaries    and 


182 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


preach  twice  every  Sunday  in  the  Indian 
language,  once  in  the  morning  and  once 
in  the  afternoon.     Poor  Indian  mission- 
aries!     It   requires   much    patience   and 
heroic  self-sacrifice  to  spend  one's  life  with 
the  poor,   simple,   and   naughty   Indians. 
May  God  reward  them  forever!"5  This 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  is  not  given  to  every- 
body ;    no    wonder,    therefore,    that    the 
Bishop  was  unable  to  people  his  diocese 
with  priests  as  fast  as  he  desired.     The 
missionary  life  offered  no  temporal  emol- 
uments  of   any   kind   as   it   barely   gave 
a  meager  living.     Two  hundred  dollars, 
ill  named  salary,  was  the  earthly  premium 
placed  upon  the  talents,  education,  physi- 
cal and  spiritual  accomplishments.  Placed 
into  the  wilds  of  Lake  Superior  one  was 
mi ne  liable  to  corrode  than  to  advance  in 
them     With  these  disadvantages  in  view, 
men  who  did  not  possess  sufficient  self- 
reliance,  kept  aloof  from  these  uncivilized 
regions.     Still  God  did  not  suffer  this  so 
much  arable  vineyard  to  remain  untilled. 
In  course  of  the  summer  (1863)  another 
candidate   was  presented   to   Baraga    for 
ordination,  and  on  the  30th  of  August. 
John  B.  Broun  was  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  priesthood. 

One  would  naturally  imagine  that 
Baraga  would  have  looked  upon  his  new- 
priest  as  a  solution  of  his  solitary  con- 
finement in  the  Sault.  But  here  shines 
forth  most  brilliantly  the  unselfishness  of 
Baraga!  He  kept  Father  Broun  in  the 
Sault  only  till  he  had  made  his  canonical 
visitation  of  missions.  On  his  tour  he 
found  that  in  the  Keweenaw  county  the 
population  was  so  large,  there  being 
over  fifteen  hundred  families  scat- 
tered   among    the    various    mining    con- 


cerns, that  one  priest  could  no  longer 
attend  to  their  spiritual  wants.  He. 
therefore,  decided  that  the  work  should 
be  divided  at  least  between  two 
priests.  Accordingly,  on  the  12th  of  Sep- 
tember, Father  Broun  appeared  in  Eagle 
Harbor  as  the  new  pastor  and  Father 
Flannigan  was  shifted  to  the  Cliff  Mine, 
while  the  poor  old  Bishop  still  remained 
pastor  and  curate  at  the  Sault.  A  certain 
Father  D.  D.  Ryan  was  with  the  bishop 
the  first  three  weeks  in  October. 

Bishop  Baraga  kept  a  journal  during 
ten  years.  Day  after  day  he  made  the 
entry  of  his  movements  and  whereabouts. 
While  he  did  not  keep  a  formal  diary,  yet 
without  these  daily  jottings  of  events  we 
would  know  but  little  of  his  life  as  a 
bishop,  and  many  a  humorous  morsel  of 
diocesan  history  would  have  remained 
entombed  in  the  past  of  time.  We  repro- 
duce the  last  entry  verbatim  and  littera- 
tim:  "July  16.  Expectatio  Steamboati. 
Sehr  kuehl,  imo  kalt !  Ich  machte  diesen 
Morgen  Feuer  im  Ofeu,  in  spite  of 
July !"  6 

We  would  not  be  true  to  the  thread  of 
our  narrative,  if  we  did  not  record  a  slight 
disturbance  in  the  quiet  life  of  the  teach- 
ing force  in  the  diocese.  Montferrand 
had  been  teaching  school  in  L'Anse  for 
years;  his  impaired  health  necessitated  a 
change.  As  we  have  mentioned  Baraga 
obtained  the  appointment  of  M.  Donovan 
in  his  place.  L'Anse  being  a  government 
school,  no  relaxation  of  duty  could  be 
tolerated,  hence  the  exchange.  But  Bara- 
ga got  the  worst  end  of  the  bargain. 
Montferrand  was  not  able  to  complete  the 


Letter  August  4,   1863.     Leop.  Berichte. 


*  Awaiting  a  boat.    Very  cool,  yes   even  cold. 
I  made  fire  this  morning,  in   spite  of  July.) 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


183 


school  year  and  gave  up  his  place  to  the 
student  Heuss. 

On  July  7th  John  Vertin  arrived  and 
madcapplication  to  the  diocese.  He  was 
received  and  ordered  to  enter  the  St. 
Francis  Seminary  in  the  fall. 

The  following  letter  will  explain  itself. 
It  was  written  to  Bishop  Lefevere.  De- 
cember 26th,  1863,  and  is  in  the  archives 
of  Notre  Dame  University.  Indiana.    "As 
long  as  the  boats  were  running.  I  always 
hoped  that  the  priest  for  whom  I  wrote 
to  the  Very  Rev.  Rector  De  Xeve.  by  the 
good  advice  of  the  Rev.  Father  Vanden- 
driesche,  would  come  to  me,  but  now   I 
see  that  he  does  not  come. — Whosoever 
dissuaded  him  from  coming  to  this  dio- 
cese, will  share  with  me  the  responsibil- 
itv  of  a  premature   ordination. — I   must 
have  priests  in  certain  places.     This  dio- 
cese of  Upper  Michigan  is  not  like  other 
dioceses  where  the  parishes  are  near  to- 
gether   and    easy    of    communication    in 
summer   and   winter.      When   there   is   a 
vacancv  in  one  parish,  within  a  few  miles 
there    is   another   one    from    whence    the 
priest  can  be  called   in  case  of  extreme 
necessity.     But  here  in  some  places  the 
priests  are  hundreds  of  miles  distant  from 
each  other,  and  communication  is  difficult 
or    oftentimes    impossible,    especially    in 
winter.     I  must  have  priests;  and  as  I  am 
prevented    from    having    learned    priests 
from  the  old  country,  I  must  ordain  my 
own  ill-prepared  students.     I  have  here  a 
student  who  is  a  good  man,  but  he  is  not 
sufficiently  prepared  as  yet.     I  am  com- 
pelled to  ordain  him  next  summer;  and 
those  who  dissaude  priests  from  coming 
to    me,    may    fairly    divide    the    blame 
amongst  them." 


1S64. 
The  winter  of  1863-4  Bishop  Baraga 
was  again  alone  in  the  Sault  despite  all 
efforts  to  obtain  help,  with  the  exception 
of  some  occasional  visits  by  the  Jesuit 
missionaries,  who  happened  to  stop  there 
011  their  way  either  going  or  coming. 
Fathers  Richard  Baxter  and  August  Koh- 
ler  were  the  most  frequent  visitors.  But 
the  vear  was  notable  in  the  history  of  the 


CAPTAIN'    JAMES    FLANNIGANT 

diocese.  Early  in  July  Rev.  H.  L.  Thiele 
returned  to  the  diocese  and  was  at  once 
located  in  the  Sault  while  the  Bishop 
went  on  his  annual  touring.  Lumbering 
interests  had  drawn  a  good  sized  popula- 
tion around  the  Little  Bay  de  Noque,  the 
present  Escanaba,  who  were  also  clamor- 
ing for  a  priest.  Father  Duroc  was  sent 
to  them  in  the  beginning  of  September 
and  Father  Thiele  succeeded  him  in  Mar- 


184 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


quette  and  he  in  turn  was  supplanted  in 
the  Sault  by  the  newly  ordained  Rev. 
Aloysius  Maria  Kopleter,  who  stayed 
there  only  a  few  weeks  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  Houghton  in  September  and 
died  there  January  24,  1865.  Such  con- 
tinual changes,  the  great  scarcity  of 
priests,  and  most  likely  not  a  little,  the 
being  alone  during  two  consecutive  win- 
ters, impelled  the  good  Bishop  to  induce 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  come  back  to  the 
Sault.  Father  Menet  arrived  in  Sep- 
tember and  took  up  the  work  which  he 
had  dropped  some  three  years  before.  In 
the  Ontonagon  County  the  population 
was  also  fast  increasing,  so  much  so,  that 
with  the  added  care  of  the  Ursuline  Aca- 
demy Father  Fox  could  no  longer  satisfy 
the  demands  of  his  missions.  In  May 
Father  Flannigan  was  sent  as  assistant 
to  him.  And  upon  the  removal  of  Father 
Flannigan  from  the  Cliff  Mine.  Father 
Broun  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the  en- 
tire Keweenaw  County. 

His  own  travels  Bishop  Baraga  sum- 
marized in  the  following  two  letters  to 
the  Leopoldine  Society. 

"Since  my  last  report  many  things 
have  happened  in  these  unhappy  States. 
Our  most  destructive  Civil  War  contin- 
ues raging  more  violently  than  ever.  Our 
president  does  not  want  to  hear  of  any 
proposals  of  peace  and  has  lately  ordered 
a  conscription  of  half  a  million  soldiers. 
The  whole  country  suffers  in  conse- 
quence ;  everything  is  twice  and  three 
times  as  dear  as  formerly  and  the  country 
is  being  deprived  of  its  most  active  and 
useful  citizens.  Our  missionaries  suffer 
very  much  as  a  matter  of  course.  Every 
where  they  complain  that  many  members 
of   their  congregations   are  being  taken 


away,  others  flee  to  Canada  for  fear  that 
they  will  be  compelled  to  serve  in  the  war. 

"This  year  a  Provincial  Council  was  to 
have  been  held  at  Cincinnati,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  war  disturbances  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cincinnati  did  not  consider  it 
advisable  to  have  it  this  year.  I  went  as 
far  as  Detroit  to  attend  the  Council,  when 
I  was  informed  that  there  would  be  none 
this  year. 

"My  first  missionary  visit  this  year  I 
made  to  a  new  country  town  with  quite  a 
number  of  Catholics.  I  spent  six  days 
in  this  place  and  said  holy  Mass  on  Sun- 
day in  a  large  school  house.  It  was  the 
first  Mass  ever  said  in  this  place  and  the 
people  assisted  with  much  devotion.  After 
Mass  I  preached,  and  among  other  things 
touched  upon  the  necessity  of  having  a 
church  and  for  this  purpose  called  a  meet- 
ing. I  bought  a  lot  in  the  middle  of  the 
growing  village  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  and  opened  a  subscription  list  f.  >r 
the  new  church.  I  subscribed  one  hun- 
dred dollars  as  my  contribution,  after 
which  some  subscribed  ten,  others  twen- 
ty, forty  and  fifty  dollars.  Even  the 
Protestant  population  contributed  liber- 
ally, and  now  a  nice  church  will  be  built, 
which  with  God's  assistance,  will  be  com- 
pleted next  year. 

"From  Alpena  I  went  to  Beaver  Is- 
land, in  Lake  Michigan,  on  a  small 
steamer,  where  I  had  established  a  mis- 
sion thirty-two  years  before.  There  the 
zealous  missionary  Father  Murray  is  sta- 
tioned, and  with  great  labor  and  much 
exertion  has  built  quite  a  large  church 
and  house.  He  has  accomplished  much 
good,  principally  in  combating  the  vice  of 
intemperance  among  his  people.  For  this 
purpose  he  established  a  temperance  so- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


185 


ciety,  which  many  have  joined.  The 
Sunday  I  spent  on  Beaver  Island,  I  con- 
firmed sixty  persons  and  gave  Holy  Com- 
munion to  on<;  hundred  and  ten.  Amongst 
the  confirmed  were  some  old  people  who 
heretofore  had  had  no  opportunity  to  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion. The  first  chance  I  had.  I  left  the  is- 
land and  returned  home.  I  stayed  there 
but  a  short  time,  as  I  still  had  much  trav- 
eling to  do  in  this  extensive  and  dismal 
diocese. 

"I  visited  La  Pointe,  where  I  founded 
a  mission  thirty  years  ago  in  which  Rev. 
John  Chebul  labors  with  undaunted, 
praiseworthy  zeal.  He  has  several  mis- 
sions to  attend,  the  principal  place  being 
Bayfield,  where  the  missionary  generally 
resides.  He  has  four  churches  to  look 
after  which  are  far  distant  from  one  an- 
other. I  spent  ten  days  in  his  mission 
and  confirmed  fifty-three  persons,  mostly 
Indians  and  half-breeds. 

"From  Bayfield  I  went  to  Ontonagon, 
where  we  have  an  Ursuline  Convent,  the 
( inly  one  in  this  poor  diocese.  It  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  has  fifteen  Sisters 
and  novices  and  about  thirty  boarding 
scholars ;  they  have  also  a  day  school  for 
outside  pupils.  Rev.  Martin  Fox,  a  Ger- 
man priest,  is  the  confessor  and  director 
of  this  convent,  whose  active  and  prudent 
directorship  gives  assurance  that  the  con- 
vent will  be  kept  in  good  order.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  convent  and  church  at  Onto- 
nagon, Rev.  Father  Fox  has  three  other 
churches  to  attend,  far  distant  from  one 
another.  At  present  an  assistant  has  been 
given  him  who  relieves  him  considerably 
in  the  care  of  his  extensive  mission.  I  con- 
firmed forty-two  persons  at  Ontonagon 
this  year.     On  the  Sunday  which  I  spent 


there  I  had  a  real  missionary  joy.  There 
still  are  in  the  neighborhood  some  pagan 
Indians.  As  soon  as  they  heard  that  1 
had  arrived,  some  of  them  came  to  me 
and  asked  for  Holy  Baptism.  I  com- 
menced at  once  to  instruct  them,  on  Sun- 
day  I  baptized  nine  of  them,  mostly 
adults,  for  which  I  returned  heartfelt 
thanks  to  God,  for  it  is  a  long  time  since 
I  baptized  so  many. 

"I  received  much  consolation  and  joy 
at  Marquette,  where  Rev.  Henry  L. 
Thiele  is  now  stationed.     The  church  at 


ST.     PATRICKS     CHURCH,     ONTONAGON. 

that  place  is  altogether  too  small  to  ac- 
commodate the  congregation.  To  have  a 
larger  church,  had  long  been  the  wish  of 
the  people,  but  the  former  priest  being  ad- 
vanced in  years,  lacked  the  necessary 
energy  and  determination  for  the  under- 
taking. But  since  Rev.  Thiele  who  has 
built  many  churches,  arrived  there,  every- 
thing is  rapidly  advancing  and  in  a  short 
time  a  beautiful,  substantial  and  large 
church  will  be  erected  there  to  the  great 
joy  of  the  faithful  who  liberally  contrib- 


186 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


uted  to  the  building  of  this  church ;  one 
member  giving  six  hundred  dollars."  ' 

The  Bishop  continues : 

"I  have  just  returned  from  a  two 
months'  visitation  amongst  the  Indian 
missions.  First  I  visited  the  mission  of 
Cross  Village,  where  I  was  very  much 
pleased  at  the  good  progress  this  mission 
has  made  since  my  last  visit.  As  the 
church  was  i.oo  small,  the  Indians  deter- 
mined to  build  an  addition  and  fit  it  up. 
What  they  had  resolved  to  do,  they  really 
did.  They  executed  the  work  so  skill- 
fully and  durably  that  no  white  carpenter 
could  have  done  it  better.  It  is  true  the 
zealous  missionary,  Rev.  Louis  Sifferat, 
helped  them  considerably  in  their  work. 
In  order  to  animate  the  Indians  who  are 
naturally  slothful,  he  himself  put  hands 
to  the  work  and  labored  assiduously  at 
enlarging  their  church.  I  remained  until 
the  following  Sunday,  on  which  I 
preached  twice  to  the  Indians  and  gave 
Confirmation. 

"From  there  I  went  to  Middle  Village, 
another  Indian  mission,  which  is  attended 
from  Cross  Village.  There  also  the  mis- 
sion church  is  too  small.  Preparations 
are  being  made  to  build  a  larger  one.  I 
hope  the  work  will  soon  be  started.  It 
is  a  pleasure  to  see  how  the  Indian  mis- 
sions are  growing,  whereas  the  pagan  In- 
dians in  the  woods,  who  will  not  hear 
about  conversion,  are  remarkably  de- 
creasing^ in  numbers.  I  have  often  heard 
from  my  Indian  guides  on  my  former 
missionary  journeys,  when  passing  by  the 
places :  'Here  was  once  a  large  Indian 
village ;  now,  not  a  single  Indian  lives 
here,  or  only  a  couple  of  families,  who  eke 


7  Letter    September    18,    1864.      Annals,    Tran- 
slat.     Verwvst. 


out  a  miserable  existence."  On  the  other 
hand  the  Indians  in  the  mission-stations 
increase  more  and  more,  live  happy  and 
are  satisfied. 

"From  Middle  Village  I  went  to  the 
mission  of  Arbre  Croche  which  was  my 
first  Indian  mission.  Thirty- four  years 
ago  I  began  my  missionary  life  there, 
which  I  have  ever  since  continued,  for  I 
always  considered  myself  a  missionary. 
The  Indians  of  this  mission,  especially 
the  aged,  are  always  happy  to  see  their 
former  missionary  in  their  midst,  and  I 
myself  always  feel  very  happy  when  I 
remember  the  many  consolations  I  had  in 
this  mission,  for  then  conversions  were 
still  very  frequent  and  numerous.  Whole 
families  became  converted  and  were  bap- 
tized together,  father,  mother,  and  all 
their  children.  The  missionary  stationed 
at  this  mission,  Rev.  Seraphin  Zorn,  is 
so  zealous  and  active,  that  I  admonished 
him  to  moderate  his  zeal  a  little,  because 
he  is  in  danger  of  prematurely  sacrificing 
his  health  and  precious  life.  He  preaches 
every  morning  after  Mass,  and  often 
makes  long  journeys  to  visit  and  instruct 
the  Indians  that  live  at  a  distance.  I  con- 
ferred the  Holy  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion and  preached  to  the  Indians  who 
likewise  feel  happy  when  hearing  their 
old  missionary  preach. 

"From  there  I  went  to  Grand  Tra- 
verse, the  mission  of  the  aged  missionary. 
Rev.  Ignatius  Mra'k.  He  has  been  labor- 
ing among  the  Indians  for  a  long  time 
and  his  ministerial  labors  are  very  hard, 
for  besides  Grand  Traverse,  he  lias  ten 
other  smaller  missions  which  he  visits 
from  time  to  time,  and  is  obliged  to 
preach  in  four  different  languages,  In- 
dian, English,  French  and  German.     To 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


137 


some  of  these  stations  he  has  to  go  on 
foot,  and  carry  all  things  necessary  for 
holding  divine  services ;  to  others  he  goes 
on  horse  back  'or  in  a  boat.  I  went  with 
him  to  some  of  these  missions  to  admin- 
ister Confirmation,  but  was  often  obliged 
to  dismount  from  my  horse  and  go  on 
foot  because  I  was  afraid  that  the  horse 
might  fall  down  and  injure  me  as  the 
roads  were  unusually  bad.  I  spent  two 
weeks  with  this  excellent  missionary  and 
gave  Confirmation  at  different  stations 
on  Sundays.  I  went  with  him  to  Carp 
River,  where  the  good  people  had  built 
a  small  church,  which  I  blessed  to  the  joy 
of  that  Christian  congregation.  In  like 
manner  I  blessed  the  spacious  grave-yard 
which  the  good  people  had  fenced  in.  I 
wi  mid  have  fulfilled  their  earnest  wish  of 
having  a  resident  priest,  but  unfortu- 
nately I  am  in  want  of  priests.  The  Cath- 
olics of  my  diocese  are  increasing  in  num- 
bers, but  seldom  do  priests  offer  them- 
selves to  come  to  this  distant  diocese. 

"From  Carp  River  my  way  led  me  to 
Mackinac.  This  mission  is  very  old. 
Jesuit  Fathers  labored  here  over  two  hun- 
dred years  ago.    At  present  it  is  without 


a  priest,  but  the  missionary  at  Point  St. 
Ignace,  Rev.  Andrew  Piret,  comes  here 
every  Sunday.  I  confirmed  one  hundred 
and  twenty-three  persons  in  these  two 
missions,  partly  children  partly  adults. 
From  Mackinac  I  set  out  for  home, 
where  I  arrived  on  the  26th  of  Novem- 
ber. 

"Notwithstanding  my  advanced  age,  J 
always  feel  very  well,  thanks  be  to  God. 
I  hope  to  serve  the  Lord  in  these  missions 
for  a  long  time.  I  am  very  well  satisfied 
with  my  priests.  They  serve  God  zeal- 
ously ami  uprightly,  and  they  willingly' 
bear  privations  and  hardships.  I  assist 
them  as  much  as  possible  and  I  thank  the 
Rev.  Directors  of  the  Leopoldine  Society 
for  the  charitable  help  they  annually  give 
me.  In  regard  to  pecuniary  matters  I  de- 
pend, upon  Europe ;  whatever  I  have.  I 
received  from  there.  My  diocese  has  no 
income,  not  a  farthing!"8 

The  threatened  ordination  did  not  take 
place,  the  good  old  Bishop  reconciling 
himself  with  the  inevitable. 


8  Letter  November  29,  1864.     Annalen,  Trans- 
lat.     Verwyst. 


Chapter      VII. 

Bishop  Baraga  transfers  his  See  to  Marquette.— The  diocese  receives  the  title  of 

Sault  Saint  Marie  and  Marquette.— Baraga  attends  the  Plenary 

Council  at  Baltimore. — Is  stricken  with  apoplexy. 

His  long  sickness — His  death.— The  fiftieth 

anniversary  of  his  consecration. 


Various  mining  enterprises  had  at- 
tracted multitudes  of  people  to  Lake  Su- 
perior regions,  and  in  particular  the  pros- 
perous copper  mines  of  Keweenaw, 
Houghton,  and  Ontonagon  counties. 
Keeping  pace  with  the  development  of 
this  section  of  the  Upper  Peninsula,  the 
dicicese  had  also  prospered.  Here  the 
population  had  increased  with  wonderful 
rapidity;  there  were  more  churches  and 
many  more  priests  within  a  radius  of 
forty  miles  in  the  Copper  Country,  than 
within  a  hundred  miles  of  the  Sault.  Five 
months  out  of  a  year  the  episcopal  city 
was  inaccessible  except  on  snow-shoes. 
Missionaries  found  it  therefore  difficult 
to  communicate  with  their  Bishop  and 
hence  the  idea,  that  he  should  transfer  his 
See  to  a  more  central  place  was  as  logi- 
cal as  it  was  general.  Father  Jacker  es- 
pecially became  the  champion  of  the  agi- 
tation. He  broached  the  subject  to  the 
Bishop  and  found  him  more  agreeable 
than  he  had  expected ;  evidently  he  had 
given  it  some  deliberation  himself.  A 
correspondence  followed.  On  February 
23,  i8§5,  Baraga  wrote  to  Father  Jacker : 


"I  wrote  to  you  lately  that  I  would 
speak  to  you  regarding  the  removal  of 
my  episcopal  See.  But  I  can  tell  you  now 
very  briefly  my  opinion  in  the  matter. 

"You  say  that  my  See  in  the  Sault  is 
( mt  of  the  centre  of  the  diocese.  But  that 
is  not  correct.  You  are  thinking  only  of 
my  Northwestern  missions  at  Lake  Su- 
perior; but  I  have  almost  as  many  mis- 
si.  ms,  though  not  so  populous,  in  the 
southern  part  of  my  diocese  at  Lake 
Michigan :  Alpena  ( where  a  large  church 
is  now  being  built),  Point  St.  Ignace, 
Mackinac,  Beaver  Harbor,  Cross  Village, 
Little  Traverse,  and  Grand  Traverse, 
with  five  or  six  missions.  All  these  would 
complain  and  feel  hurt  were  I  to  remove 
my  episcopal  See  to  Lake  Superior.  An 
old  Latin  proverb  says : 

"Si  in  qua  sede  sedes, 

Et  tibi  commoda  sit  ista  sedes, 

In  ista  sede  sede, 

Neque  ab  ea  recede. 

"We  shall  therefore  continue  sitting 
on  our  old  seat  until  death  takes  us  off 
from  it. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


189 


"Your  innermost  loving  Father  in 
Christ, 

"  «i° Frederic."  * 

Father  Jacker  had  firmly  set  it  in  his 
mind  that  Hancock  would  prove  the  fit- 
test place  for  the  new  episcopal  residence, 
and  had  substantiated  his  argument  to 
that  effect.  But  the  Bishop  did  not  1(  ise 
sight  of  the  future  possible  development 
of  his  diocesan  territory.  Escanaba  had 
just  sprung  into  existence,  and  west  of 
it  there  were  vast  tracts  of  undeveloped 


ceived  the  next  consideration.  The  choice 
lay  between  the  two.  According  to  the 
indications  there  was  more  future  for  the 
fi  inner,  on  account  of  her  mines,  than  for 
the  latter.  Marquette  situated  on  the 
lake  had  mure  means  of  communication 
than  Xegaunee,  besides  it  had  a  new 
church  fit  to  Lie  a  Cathedral.  During  the 
long  residence  in  the  Sault,  Baraga  had 
accustomed  himself  to  the  beautiful  view 
upon  the  lake  and  now  Marquette  easily 
won  out  in  his  preferment.    This  he  com- 


THE   NORTH   VIEW  OF  THE  RUINS  OF   ST.   FRANCIS  CHURCH,   NORWICH, 
ONTONAGON    COUNTY,    DEDICATED    AUGUST    24,    1856. 


country.  Should  any  missions  ever  be 
located  within  that  area  they  would  be 
more  out  of  reach  from  Hancock  than 
from  the  Sault.  This  much  was  clear  to 
the  Bishop,  and  he  at  once  dismissed  the 
thought  of  moving  to  Hancock.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  equally  plain  to  his  mind 
that  in  order  to  be  accessible  to  his  priests 
he  had  to  locate  somewhere  out  of  the 
Sault.  But  where?  Negaunee  or  Mar- 
quette being  the  most  central  points  re- 
1  Verwyst,   Life   of  Baraga,   p.   356. 


municated  to  Father  Jacker  in  the  follow- 
ing letter  of  October  26,  1865. 

"Your  esteemed  letter  of  the  17th  inst. 
unfortunately  did  not  come  to  hand  until 
today.  Dear  Fr.  Jacker,  your  St.  Scho- 
lastica  remedy  has  worked  wonderfully ! 
All  of  a  sudden  it  came  before  the  eyes 
of  my  mind  that  I  am  bound  in  conscience 
to  remove  the  episcopal  See  to  Lake  Su- 
perior. I  choose  Marquette,  first  because 
of  the  name ;  Marquettcnsis  is  more 
proper  than  Hancockcnsis.    Hancock  was 


190 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


a  heretic  or  perhaps  an  infidel ;  Pere  Mar- 
quette was  a  saintly  missionary  'cujus 
memoria  in  benedictione  est.'  Secondly, 
Marquette  is  a  pleasant,  quiet  and  central 
place,  with  many  means  of  communica- 
tion. My  God.  what  is  this?  I  can 
scarcely  write  any  more;  my  right  hand 
is  lamed.  Oh,  do  use -the  St.  Scholastica 
Remedy  for  my  right  hand ;.  otherwise  I 
will  soon  be  unable  to  write."  2  To  obtain 
the  required  permission  for  this  transfer, 
Bishop  Baraga  wrote  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Cincinnati  and  to  Rome  exposing  the 
exact  position  of  his  diocese.  From  Rome 
he  received  the  following  papal  decree. 

"Our  most  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX,  by 
divine  Providence  Pope,  having  referred 
to  him  by  the  undersigned  Cardinal-Pre- 
fect of  the  Propaganda  Fide,  after  ma- 
ture deliberation,  the  question,  submitted 
by  the  bishop  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  concerning 
the  congruity  and  utility  of  transferring 
his  See  from  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  which  lies 
on  the  extreme  border  of  his  diocese  and 
is  proportionately  a  small  town,  decreas- 
ing annually  and  most  difficult  of  access 
in  winter  time,  to  the  city  of  Marquette, 
which  is  centrally  located,  a  larger  town 
and  growing  from  year  to  year,  easy  of 
communication  by  rail  and  other  public 
ways ;  having  also  taken  notice  of  the 
commending  letters  of  his  Metrop  ilitan, 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  of  Cin- 
cinnati, has  allowed  the  proposed  transfer 
and  approved  of  by  his  Apostolic  author- 
ity in  an  audience  given  on  the  23d  day 
of  October  1865.  He  commands,  how- 
ever, that  with  the  new  title  assumed,  the 
old  one  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  be  retained 


and  has  ordered  this  decree  instead  of  a 
Brief  to  be  issued. 

Given  in  Rome  from  the  offices  of  the 
Propoganda  Fide,  day  and  year  as  above. 
Gratis  and  without  tax  whatsoever. 
Al.  Cardinal  Barnabo, 

Prefect. 3 

Announcing  the  papal  decision,  Baraga 
writes  to  Father  Jacker  under  date  of 
December  11,  1865 : 

"Rev.  Fr.  Jacker:  The  answer  from 
Rome  has  arrived.  The  Holy  Father  al- 
lows me  to  remove  my  episcopal  See  to 
Marquette  (not  to  Hancock),  but  I  am  to 
retain  the  former  title,  ' Mariano polita- 
nits,'  besides  the  new  one  'Marquettensis.' 
Very  strange.  Such  an  answer  I  had  not 
expected.  I  shall  therefore  remove  to 
Marquette,  but  I  will  never  use  the  two 
titles,  except  when  writing  to  Rome.  On 
all  other  occasions  I  will  always  write : 
Bishop  of  Upper  Michigan."  4 

To  the  Leopoldine  Society  Baraga 
wrote  his  last  letter  from  the  Sault  March 


2Verwyst,  p.  357- 


=  SSmus  Dims  Noster  Pius  Divina  Providen- 
tia  P.  P.  IX.  referente  me  infra  scripto  S.  Con- 
gregationis  de  propaganda  Fide  Card  Prae- 
fecto,  mature  perpensis  quae  per  episeopum  Mar- 
ianopolitanum  (Sault  Ste.  Marie)  in  Statis  Foed- 
eratis  Americae  exponetnntur  de  congruitate  et 
utilitate  transferendi  Sedem  suam  de  oppido 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  quod  jacet  in  extremitate  dio- 
ceseos  et  in  proportionem  parvum  est  oppidum, 
quotannis  decrescens,  difficullimumque  accessus 
tempore  hiemali,  ad  urbem  Marquette  quae  jacet 
in  c  .tro  jam  vere  major  est  et  quotannis  crescit, 
facillimaeque  communicationis  ob  vias  ferreas 
aliasque  vias  publicas;  visaque  annuentia  R.  P. 
D.  Archiepiscopi  Cincinnatensis  ejus  Metropoli- 
tan! qui  petitionem  commendat ;  propositam  trans- 
lationem  probavit,  atqne  Apostolica  Sua  Auctor- 
itate  firmavit  ex  Audientia  diel  23,  Octobris  1865. 
Voluit  tamen  ut  novo  titulo  assumendo  vetus  Mar- 
ianopolitanus  addatur.  ac  praesens  decretum  loco 
Brevis  expediri  mandavit.  Datum  Romae  ex 
Aedibus  d.  S.  Congnis  die  et  anno  supradicto: 
Gratis  absque  nlla  omnino  solutione  quovis  ti- 
tulo. 

AL.  CARD.  BARNABO,  PRAEF. 

Archives  Marquette. 
'  Verwyst,  p.  358. 


SAULT  SI  E.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


191 


_>4,  1S66,  and  announced  the  transfer  of 
his  See  to  Marquette. 

"This  time  I  have  to  inform  the  Leo- 
poldine  Society  of  an  affair  very  impor- 
tant— at  least  to  us  here —  namely,  the 
transferring  of  my  episcopal  See  from 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  Marquette.  Lake  Su- 
perior. For  several  years  my  mission- 
aries on  Lake  Superior  asked  me  to  come 
and  live  nearer  to  them  but  I  kept  on 
postponing  it.  Finally,  last  fall  I  re- 
solved to  fulfil  their  wish,  and  petitioned 


there  is  no  communication  possible  except 
by  traveling  on  snow-shoes.  Navigation 
is  impossible  on  account  of  the  ice,  and 
roads  there  are  none  here  for  horses.  The 
letters  we  write  during  winter  have  to  be 
carried  by  mail  carriers,  who  are  obliged 
to  travel  on  snow-shoes  hundreds  of  miles 
through  dreary  forests  before  they  come 
to  a  station  from  where  they  make  use  of 
a  horse.  When  I  write  in  winter  to  a 
missionary  on  Lake  Superior  I  cannot 
expect  an  answer  in  less  than  two  months. 


THE     SOUTHWEST     VIEW     OF     THE     RUINS     OF     ST.     FRANCIS 
CHURCH     AT     NORWICH. 


the  Holy  See  for  permission  to  do  so, 
which  request  was  granted  without  any 
difficulty.  So,  in  the  month  of  May,  as 
soon  as  navigation  opens,  I  shall  remove 
to  Marquette. 

"The  reason  of  this  removal  is  the 
greater  facility  of  communicating  with 
my  missionaries.  This  place,  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  is  an  out-of-the-way  place,  with 
which  during  five  months — from  the  end 
of  November  till  the  beginning  of  May — 


It  takes  one  month  for  the  letter  to  get  to 
the  missionary,  and  another  month  for 
the  answer  to  come  to  me.  And  this 
condition  will  hardly  ever  change.  They 
will  never  build  wagon  roads  here  on  ac- 
count of  the  horrible  desolation  and  poor- 
ness of  the  land  and  on  account  of  the 
great  distance  from  settled  places. 

"It  is  quite  different  now  on  Lake  Su- 
perior. I  say  now,  for  ten  or  twelve 
years  ago  the  Lake  Superior  country  was 


192 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


as  yet  but  little  settled.  Public  roads 
have  been  built  everywhere,  on  which  a 
person  can  travel  and  ride  in  winter  as 
well  as  in  summer.  There  are  railroads 
there  in  operation,  and  others  are  being 
constructed.  Hence,  I  remove  my  epis- 
copal See  from  this  lonesome  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  to  Marquette,  which  is  far  more 
favored.  I,  therefore,  request  the  Rev- 
erend Directors  of  the  Leopoldine  Soci- 
ety to  direct,  hereafter,  their  letters  to 
me  to  Marquette,  Lake  Superior,  Michi- 
gan. 

"I  do  not  know  how  the  winter  is  in 
Europe;  with  us  here  it  is  extremely  cold. 
The  thermometer  of  Fahrenheit,  which 
we  use,  is  generally  10,  20,  30  degrees  be- 
low zero,  and  twice  it  sank  to  40  degrees. 
The  French  priest  who  is  stationed  here, 
and  who  in  his  youth  was  in  Russia,  says 
that  even  in  Russia  the  thermometer  does 
not  fall  to  40  degrees  below  zero. 

"Our  mission  affairs  go  on  prosper- 
ously, thanks  be  to  God.  The  number  of 
my  missionaries  increases,  and  new 
churches  are  being  built  from  time  to 
time,  because  the  population  in  the  coun- 
try keeps  on  continually  growing.  Our 
churches,  it  is  true,  are  but  of  wood  and 
small  in  comparison  with  churches  of  old 
countries,  still  they  are  houses  of  God  and 
serve  the  same  purpose  for  which  large 
and  magnificently  built  churches  are  con- 
structed." s 

In  May,  Baraga  ordained  in  the  St. 
Ann's  church  at  Hancock  Revs.  William 
Dwyer  and  Edmund  Walsh. 

On  the  12th  of  July  Rev.  Mathias  Orth 
was  ordaind  in  the  Sault  and  on  the  8th 
of   August   Rev.    John    Burns.      Fathers 


'  Annalen  XXXVI. 


Dwyer  and  Walsh  were  left  as  assistants 
in  Hancock,  Father  Orth  at  the  Cliff 
Mission  and  Father  Burns  in  Houghton. 

1866. 
With  the  advent  of  spring  Bishop 
Baraga  made  preparations  for  his  de- 
parture from  the  Sault.  To  our  regret 
we  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the 
date  of  his  leaving,  but  we  know  that  it 
was  early  in  May.  There  was  no  dem- 
onstration at  either  end ;  at  the  Sault  it 
was  scarcely  known  until  the  boat  was 
leaving  the  harbor,,  and  in  Marquette  the 
citizens,  Catholics  and  Protestants,  alike 
were  anxious  to  honor  him  by  a  public 
reception,  but  he  absolutely  forbade  any 
attempts.  He  simply  habilitated  himself 
in  his  new  place.  The  new  environment 
evidently  pleased  the  Bishop.  The  church 
was  new  and  spacious,  the  residence  at 
least  as  comfortable  as  the  one  he  had 
left,  the  people  congenial  and  above  all, 
he  found  Marquette  most  convenient  for 
the  visitation  of  his  diocese.  Under  date 
of  August  4th  he  writes  to  the  Leopol- 
dine Society  his  first  letter  from  Mar- 
quette and  alas!  his  last  with  his  own 
hand.     He  says : 

"In  my  last  report  I  mentioned  that 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Holy  Roman 
See  I  had  transferred  my  episcopal  See 
from  Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  Marquette,  be- 
cause communication  is  much  easier  with 
Marquette  than  with  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
especially  during  winter.  Marquette  is 
named  after  one  of  the  first  and  most 
zealous  Jesuit  missionaries  of  this  coun- 
try. It  is  a  neat  little  city  situated  on 
Lake  Superior;  it  is  small  as  yet.  but 
growing  rapidly.  This  summer  about 
forty  houses  are  being  built. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


193 


"The  church  in  Marquette  is  a  hand- 
some large  structure.  It  is  the  largest 
and  most  beautiful  church  in  Upper 
Michigan,  a  veritable  cathedral  which 
was  begun  last  year  and  was  completed 
this  year.  It  has  cost  over  twelve  thou- 
sand dollars,  very  much,  indeed,  fur  us 
in  Upper  Michigan.  Unfortunately  there 
is  still  a  heavy  debt  on  it. 

"From  here  I  make  my  canonical  visi- 
tations to  the  different  mission  stations 
on  Lake  Superior.     This  summer  I  have 


order  to  satisfy  all  hearers,  who  are  peo- 
ple of  different  countries.  This  very 
thing  constitutes  the  greatest  trouble  of 
the  priests  of  this  diocese,  and  it  is  with 
great  difficulty  that  the  bishop  can  find 
priests  who  are  able  to  speak  these  vari- 
ous languages. 

"Thus  far  I  have  visited  the  missions 
of  the  Whites,  but  in  a  few  days  I  will 
start  on  a  journey  to  the  Indian  missions, 
which  are  still  more  interesting  than 
those  of  the  Whites."  e 


THE     SOUTHWEST     VIEW     OF    THE     RUINS     OF     ST.     FRANCIS 
CHURCH    AT    NORWICH.      THIS    WAS    THE    ROOM    WHERE 
THE     PRIEST     STAYED     WHEN     HE    VISITED    THE     PLACE. 


been  traveling  almost  continually,  only 
from  time  to  time  coming  home  for  a  few 
days  to  answer  letters,  of  which  I  always 
find  a  great  number  on  hand. 

"Everything"  goes  its  usual  way  in  the 
various  missions.  Things  are  every- 
where arranged  as  in  regular  parishes, 
with  the  only  difference  that  priests  are 
obliged  to  preach  and  hear  confessions  in 
three  or  four  different  languages, —  Eng- 
lish,   German,    French,    and    Indian. — in 


After  his  return  from  the  Lower  Mich- 
igan tour  Baraga  conferred  the  Holy 
Orders  on  John  Vertin.  This  ordination 
took  place  on  the  31st  day  of  August,  it 
was  the  first  ever  held  in  Marquette  and 
the  last  by  Bishop  Baraga. 

For  this  year  the  second  Plenary  Coun- 
cil was  convoked.  The  Most  Rev.  Martin 
John  Spalding,  Archbishop  of  Balti- 
more, as  Papal  Delegate,  in  a  letter  of 


0  Annalen  XXXVI. 


194 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


March  19th,  had  invited  and  likewise  ad- 
monished,   all     Prelates    and    all    those 
whose  duty  and  right  it  is  to  be  present, 
to  convene  on  the  first  Sunday  in  October 
in  Plenary  Council.     Despite  his  old  age 
and  the  great  distance,  Baraga  resolved 
to  attend   the   Council.      To  provide   an 
administrator    during    his    absence,    the 
government  of  the  diocese  was  entrusted 
to  Father  Jacker  who  came  to  Marquette 
in  September.     Father  Broun,  who  had 
left  the  diocese  and  had  joined  that  of 
Cleveland,   O.,  was    replaced    in    Eagle 
Harbor  by   Father  Burns   from   Hough- 
ton, and  he  in  turn  was  replaced  by  Fath- 
er Vertin  who  also  received  the  charge 
of  the  French  and  German  in  Hancock, 
during  Father  Jacker's  stay  in  Marquette. 
As  the   Bishop  could   ill   afford  to  take 
more  than  one  priest  from  the  diocese  he 
selected  only  Rev.  Honoratus  Bourion,  to 
accompany  him  as  his  theologian.     They 
started  by  way  of  Chicago  for  Baltimore. 
For  his  second  theologian  Baraga  nomi- 
nated a  Rev.  Joseph  Behn.    Bishop  Bar- 
aga  was  present  at   all   the  preliminary 
meetings  and  also  assisted  at  the  open- 
ing and  the  first  solemn  session  on  Sun- 
day, October  the  7th  in  St.  Mary's  Cathe- 
dral of  Baltimore.     The  following  day, 
being  the  eighth  of  October,  he  sustained 
a  stroke  of  apoplexy  and  was  removed  to 
the  St.   Agnes  Hospital.     Aware  of  his 
merits  and  his  advanced  age,  the  Fathers 
of  the  Council  advised  him  to  remain  in 
the  warmer  climate  and  suggested  to  him 
a     coadjutor     cum     jure     succcssionis. 
Agreeable    to    the    latter    suggestion    he 
named    at    their    request,    Rev.    Ignatius 
Mrak  as  dignissimus,  Rev.  John  Cebul  as 
dignior  and  Rev.  Augustus  Kohler  S.  J., 
as  dignus,  but  he  stubbornly  refused  to 


listen  to  the  friendly  advice  to  remain 
from  his  diocese  and  started  for  home  in 
his  enfeebled  condition.  After  a  fatig- 
ing  journey  he  reached  Marquette  and 
was  confined  to  his  bed  and  room  for 
several  months  before  he  could  even  cele- 
brate! holy  Mass.  On  January  28th  1867 
he  sends,  through  Father  Jacker,  the  fol- 
lowing report  to  the  Leopoldine  Society 
in  Vienna : 

"Hitherto  I  enjoyed  continually  good 
health,  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  Plen- 
ary Council  of  Baltimore  a  great  sickness 
befell  me,  which  still  continues  and  rend- 
ers me  unfit  for  all  business.  A  German 
paper  has  published  the  following  account 
of  my  sickness : 

"  'The   Apostolic    Delegate,   Archbish- 
op Spalding,   then  took  his  seat  on  the 
platform  before  the  altar  and  the  Council 
was  opened  with  the  prescribed  prayers 
and     hymns,     after     which     Rev.     Dr. 
Keough,  one  of  the  secretaries,  read  the 
decrees  for  the  Council.     The  archbishop 
then  requested  the  people  to  pray  for  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Baraga,  who  was  very  sick 
at   St.   Agnes'   Hospital.     Divine  service 
concluded     with     giving     the     Apostolic 
Benediction.     We  regret  to  be  obliged  to 
state  that  Rt.  Rev,  Bishop  Baraga,  whose 
diocese  embraees  the  Northern  Peninsula 
of  Michigan,  besides  the  adjacent  islands, 
.  was  struck  with  apoplexy  in  the  archie- 
piscopal  residence  and  now  lies  in  a  criti- 
cal condition  at  St.  Agnes'  Hospital.    As 
we  were  informed  the  Rt.   Rev.   Prelate 
was   found   unconscious   in   the   corridor 
near  the  stairs  and  it  is  believed  that  he 
fell  down  some  steps  when  he  was  struck 
with  apoplexy.     The  episcopal  cross  has 
somewhat    injured    his    breast.     Several 
eminent   physicians   treat   the   Venerable 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


195 


Prelate.  As  he  is  a  German  bishop,  and 
a  reader  and  friend  of  our  paper,  we  con- 
sider ourselves  doubly  obliged  to  ask  the 
prayers  of  our  readers  for ,  this  pious 
man.' 

"I  feel  yet  the  effects  of  the  above- 
mentioned  apoplectic  stroke.  I  am  not 
only  unfit  to  write  ( it  is  only  with  great 
difficulty  and  after  long  exertion  that  I 


"One  of  the  most  pleasing  tilings  I 
have  to  report  in  regard  to  the  progress 
of  religion  on  Lake  Superior  is,  that  well- 
attended  convent  schools  exist  in  five  dif- 
ferent places  namely  that  of  the  Ursu- 
lines  here  in  Marquette  and  Ontonagon, 
and  those  of  St.  Joseph  Sisters  at  Sault 
Ste.  Marie.  Hancock  and  L'Anse.  The 
latter   have   the  advantage  because   they 


THE    F:KST    ST.    PETERS    CATHEDRAL,    MARQUETTE,     MICH. 


can  hardly  write  my  name)  but  I  also 
feel  myself  unfit  for  all  business.  I  hope, 
however,  that  it  will  be  better  next 
spring.  At  the  Plenary  Council  a  Coad- 
jutor was  given  me.  but  it  is  yet  undecided 
who  it  will  be.  Three  names  were  sent 
to  Rome,  as  usual,  but  the  decision  will 
not  arrive  before  next  summer. 


instruct  also  boys  to  the  age  of  twelve 
years.  The  introduction  of  Sisters  at 
L'Anse  contributed  much  towards  pro- 
moting the  school  attendance  of  Indian 
children.  If  the  poor  missionary  resid- 
ing there  succeeds  in  keeping  up  this 
school  for  the  mission,  the  greatest  bless- 
ings  are   to   be   hoped   therefrom.      The 


196 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


number  of  Sisters  in  the  above-named 
places  is  about  twenty-five.  In  three 
places  the  schools  are  supported  by  the 
respective  congregations.  For  the  Sis- 
ters at  the  poor  Sault  Ste.  Marie  I  must 
contribute  annually  four  hundred  dollars, 
and  in  addition  to  this,  I  had  considerable 
outlays  for  repairs  of  buildings.  The 
three  Sisters  at  L'Anse  receive  a  little 
from  the  government,  the  other  expenses 
have  to  be  borne  by  the  poor  missionary, 
who  is  supported  by  me." " 

April  3,  1867  Bishop  Baraga  writes  to 
the  same  society: 

"The  state  of  my  health  for  the 
last  six  months  remains  unchanged, 
unfortunately.  I  am  so  weak  that  I  can 
scarcely  move  or  speak  so  as  to  be  under- 
stood. I  rise  every  morning  and  walk 
from  time  to  time  up  and  down  in  my 
room  in  order  to  rest  easier  in  bed  after- 
wards. When  one  sees  or  hears  me,  he 
would  think  that  I  could  not  live  a  week 
longer.  Yet  I  continue  to  live  and  wait 
for  my  successor,  who  is  to  come  this 
summer. 

"For  the  last  four  months  I  have  been 
unable  to  say  Mass ;  but  I  will  use  all  my 
strength  to  read  Mass  on  Holy  Thursday 
and  to  consecrate  the  Oils. 

"As  to  my  diocese,  all  places  are  sup- 
plied with  priests.  There  are  now  twen- 
ty-one priests  in  the  diocese,  and  only 
when  new  settlements  spring  up  will  there 
be  need  of  more  priests.  What  a  differ- 
ence between  now  and  the  beginning  of 
the  diocese!  At  that  time  there  were 
only  two  priests  here  and  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice had  to  be  offered  for  the  most  part  in 
private  houses ;  now  there  are  twenty-one 
priests  and  there  are  churches  in  all  the 

*  Berichte  der  Leopoldinen  Stiftung  XXXVII. 


larger  settlements.  Only  in  case  of  new 
mines  being  discovered,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  build  more  churches.  Our  churches 
are  built  at. the  expense  of  the  respective 
congregations,  but  the  bishop  must  still 
contribute  the  most.  We  are  well  sup- 
plied with  schools,  every  congregation 
having  one,  which  is  kept  either  by  Sis- 
ters or  by  secular  teachers.  Moreover, 
the  missionaries  have  less  fatigue  and 
hardships  to  endure  than  formerly,  when 
the  few  priests  that  were  here  had  to 
travel  long  distances  on  bad  roads.  Now 
they  do  not  need  to  travel  so  far,  and  the 
roads  are  mostly  good  and  almost  every- 
where there  is  an  opportunity  to  travel 
either  by  water  or  land."  s 
June  28,  1S67,  he  writes: 
"About  two  months  ago  I  wrote  last 
and  spoke,  among  other  things,  about  the 
state  of  my  health.  I  mentioned  that  I 
needed  some  assistance,  especially  this 
year,  because  my  moving  from  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  my  former  episcopal  See,  was  ac- 
companied with  many  expenses,  and  be- 
cause here  in  Marquette  a  heavy  debt  re- 
mains on  the  newly  built  cathedral,  so 
that  instead  of  drawing  a  revenue  from 
it,  as  most  bishops  do,  I  am  obliged  to 
make  considerable  contributions  towards 
paying  the  debt  and  procuring  such 
things  as  are  yet  necessary.  Moreover, 
my  sickness  has  cost  me  much  and  does 
so  still  every  day :  I  have  been  so  sick  for 
nine  months  that  I  can  neither  read  Mass 
nor  say  my  breviary,  nor  scarcely  speak. 
"The  priest  who  has  charge  of  this  con- 
gregation, labors  hard,  especially  in  in- 
structing the  children.  Last  Sunday  was 
first  Communion,  there  being  about  fifty 
communicants.     In  order  to  prepare  them 

8  Ibidem. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


197 


well  for  so  holy  an  act,  the  missionary 

not  only  instructed  the  children  here  but 
also  visited  once  a  week  three  settlements, 
five  miles  from  here,  in  order  to  gather 
and  instruct  the  children  there.  At  the 
same  time  he  had  devotions  every  even- 
ing during  Lent,  at  which  he  preached  in 
different  languages. 

"The  church  we  have  here  is  the  best 
and  the  largest  of  the  diocese;  but  it  has 
cost  much.  The  contract  was  made  for 
eight  thousand  dollars ;  but  with  the  stone 
foundation,  which  was  not  included  in 
the  contract,  and  other  additions  and  im- 
provements, the  whole  amounts  to  four- 
teen thousand  dollars.  The  creditors 
hold  me  liable  and  are  pressing  me  for 
payment.  I  am  thus  in  a  very  painful 
situation,  and  ask  most  urgently  for 
abundant  assistance.  This  petition  is 
very  urgent,  for  I  have  never  been  in  such 
a  predicament  before.  Sick  as  I  am,  and 
to  be  continually  pressed  by  creditors, 
whom  I  am  unable  to  satisfy,  is  sad  in- 
deed. I  beg  of  you,  therefore,  most 
earnestly  to  help  me  in  my  need."  ,J 

The  last  letter  dictated  by  Bishop  Bar- 
aga and  written  by  Father  Jacker,  to  the 
above  society,  resounds  with  the  most 
touching  appeal  for  pecuniary  help. 
Whether  this  appeal  was  materially  an- 
swered before  the  saintly  Bishop  closed 
his  eyes  upon  all  that  is  material,  is  not 
known.  The  letter  bears  the  date  of  26th 
of  July,   1867. 

"Last  year  about  this  time  I  received 
a  draft  from  you  through  Messrs.  Brauns 
&  Co.  This  year  I  have  as  yet  received 
nothing  from  Vienna.  I  entreat  you  most 
urgently  not  to  abandon  me  in  my  need. 


1  was  never  so  much  in  need  of  help  as 
1  am  just  now.  My  sickness  of  ten 
months,  from  which  I  still  suffer,  and  my 
old  debts  which  I  cannot  pay,  make  me 
truly  unhappy.  If  I  do  not  receive  help 
this  year  from  Vienna,  I  do  not  know 
how  it  will  go  with  me.  I  still  have  to 
govern  the  diocese;  my  successor  will  not 
come  this  year.  He  who  was  recom- 
mended prima  loco  has  declined.  Hence 
other  names  will  have  to  be  sent  to  Rome, 
in  order  that  the  Holy  Father  may  choose 
from  among  them. 

"I  beg  of  you  once  more  very  urgently 
not  to  abandon  me  this  year."  10 

The  good  Bishop  might  have  been  led 
to  believe  that  the  "first"  on  the  list  for 
the  coadjutorship  had  declined  the  honor. 
But  such  was  not  the  case.  First  of  all  it 
took  a  long  while  before  "Acta  et  De- 
creta"  of  the  Council  were  forwarded  to 
the  Propaganda,  and  then,  we  know,  that 
Rome  is  never  in  a  hurry.  The  good 
Bishop  was  dead  five  days,  when  Cardi- 
nal Barnabo  penned  the  answer  to  the 
petition  for  the  appointment  of  the  coad- 
jutor, and  then  it  was  in  the  negative  be- 
cause the  necessary  information  about  the 
personalities  of  the  candidates  had  been 
omitted.11 

And  this  is  correct,  because  the  Fa- 
thers of  the  Council,  as  it  were,  justifying 
the  omission,  say:  "In  the  petition,  how- 
ever, for  the  Coadjutor  to  the  Bishop  of 


9  Ibidem. 


10  Ibidem. 

11  Duo   tantum   animadvertenda   supersunt : 

1.  E.  E.  P.  P.  quamvis  designationem  Coad- 
jutoris  cum  jure  successionis  Episcopo  Mariano- 
politano  et  Marquettensi  admiserint,  personae 
tamen  electionem  differi  mandarunt  donee  ad 
normam  Questionarii  accurata  singulorum  Candi- 
datorum  informatio  ad  S.  Congregationem  mit- 
tetur.  S.  C.  de  P.  Fide,  die  24.  Januarii  1868.  Al. 
Card.  Barnabo.  Praefectus.  Acta  et  Decreta 
Sicrorum  Conciliorum  Recentiorum.  Collectio 
Lacensis,  1875,  p.  38Q. 


198 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette,  that 
venerable  Prelate,  could  really  not,  on  ac- 
count of  the  serious  sickness  by  which 
he  was  stricken  during  the  Council,  fur- 
nish the  required  information  about  the 
candidates,  nor  was  there  'any  one  else 
who  could  supplement  the  defect.12 

Thus  the  saintly  Bishop  Baraga  parted 
this  life  without  knowing  who  his  succes- 
sor should  be.  He  died  on  the  feast  of 
the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus,  the  19th  day 
of  January  A.  D.  1868.  Rev.  Father 
Jacker  who  was  present,  gives  us  the 
following  particulars : 

"When  I  wrote  the  last  time  to  the 
directors  of  the  Leopoldine  Society,  at 
the  request  of  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Baraga, 
he  was  still  able  to  sign  the  letter  with  a 
trembling  hand.  Now  this  hand  rests 
in  the  grave ! 

"The  long  sickness  of  the  beloved  pre- 
late, or  rather  the  gradual  decline  of  his 
vital  forces,  which  began  to  manifest 
itself  very  much  some  years  ago,  and 
which  slowly  brought  him  nearer  and 
nearer  to  his  blessed  end,  ended  with 
several  weeks  of  great  pain.  Since  New 
Year  the  pious  sufferer  spent  most  of  his 
nights  sleepless.  In  the  night  before 
Epiphany  severe  pains  and  difficulty  of 
breathing  came  upon  him,  so  that  it  was 
considered  necessary  to  administer  to  him 
the  Sacraments  of  the  dying.  This  con- 
dition lasted  several  days.  An  apparent 
improvement  of  health  followed,  but  it 
was  only  the  forerunner  of  the  gradual 


la  In  postulatione  tamen  Coadjutoris  pro  Epis- 
copo  Marquettensi  et  Marianopolitano.  ob  in- 
firmitatem  gravem  qua,  vel  ineunte  Concilio,  erat 
venerandus  ille  Antistes  correptus,  hand  potiiit 
illam  quam  oportebat  suppeditare  de  candidatis 
notitiam,  nee  aderat  alius  qui  defectum  supplere 
posset.  Tit.  XIII.  Con.  Bait.  II.  Coll.  Lacensis, 
P    543- 


extinguishing  of  the  vital  forces.  Still  the 
dying  Bishop  retained  the  use  of  his 
mental  faculties  to  his  last  moments,  and 
even  when  his  tongue  was  unable  to 
articulate,  he  tried  to  make  known  his 
wishes  and  orders  partly  by  writing, 
partly  by  signs,  in  which  he  succeeded  in 
most  instances,  though  only  after  great 
efforts. 

"At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
19th  of  January,  1868,  on  which  day  the 
feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus  fell  in 
that  year,  he  exhaled  his  pure  soul  after 
an  agony  of  only  a  few  moments. 

"The  cold  season  of  the  year  made  it 
possible  to  postpone  his  solemn  obsequies 
so  long  that  at  least  some  priests  of  the 
diocese  were  able  to  arrive  in  time  to 
attend.  On  the  31st  of  January  we 
buried  our  good  Father  in  a  vault  con- 
structed for  that  purpose  in  the  basement 
of  the  Cathedral.  Only  six  priests  were 
present.  But  the  large  church  could  not 
hold  the  crowds  of  people  of  Marquette 
and  the  surrounding  country.  Not  only 
Catholics  of  different  nationalities  were 
present,  but  also  the  majority  of  the 
Protestant  population,  who  by  common 
agreement  stopped  all  work  on  that  day 
and  vied  with  the  flock  of  the  deceased 
Bishop  in  manifesting  their  appreciation 
of  his  great  virtues  and  merits. 

"Thus  ended  a  man  whose  purity  of 
soul  and  singleness  of  purpose,  whose 
mortified  life  and  burning  zeal,  joined  to 
uncommon  talents  and  acquirements, 
faithfully  and  successfully  employed  in 
the  service  of  God  and  of  the  most  aban- 
doned of  his  creatures;  a  man  whose 
extraordinary  achievements  as  a  pioneer 
of  Christianity  will  not  allow  his  memory 
to  pass  away  as  long  as  souls  capable  of 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


199 


appreciating   such   virtue   and   excellence  Bishop  Baraga  which  for  its  many  inter- 
will  live  in  this  upper  country  which  has  esting  points  we  give  verbatim, 
been  the  principal  field  of  his  labors,  and  Marquette,  January  20th,  1868. 
where  his  body  now  rests  to  await  the  Most  Rev.  J.  B.  Purcell,  Archbishop  of 
summons  for  resurrection."13  Cincinnati. 


HON.    PETER    WHITE. 


Rev.  Honoratus  Bourion  wrote  to 
Archbishop  Purcell  of  Cincinnati  an 
account    of   the   sickness    and    death   of 

13  Verwyst,  Life  of  Baraga,  pp.  366  and  367. 


Monsignor  :  Our  good  and  venerable 
Bishop  is  dead!!  He  is  gone  and  has 
left  us  orphans!!  and  next  Friday  we  will 
be  obliged  to  accompany  him  to  his  last 


200 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


home!    \Yho  would,  Consignor,  measure  to  affront  its  icy  blast.       Nobody  is  by 

the  extent  of  our  loss?   It  would  be  for  us  his  bedside  to  close  his  eyes  but  a  poor 

a  kind  of  consolation  should  he  be  car-  servant,  and  only  a  few  priests,  perhaps 

ried  to  his  resting  place  surrounded,  as  it  five  or  six.  will  carry  his  mortal  remains 

is  generally  done  everywhere  at  the  fu-  to  their  place  of  rest.       When  I  reflect  on 

nerals  of  other  bishops,  by  a  numerous  the  life  our  venerable  and  saintly  Bishop, 

clergy.      Does  not   the   apostle   who   has  so  full  of  abnegations,  crowned  with  so 

begotten  to  the  church  twenty-five  thou-  great  success  in  the  conversion  of  souls, 

sand   Indians    during   his   apostleship    in  when    I    represent    to    myself    his    last 

these  wild  and   frozen   regions,   does  he  moments  and  his  funeral,  it  seems  to  me 


A   TRUNK    WHICH    BELONGED    TO   BISHOP    BARAGA.       NOW    IN 

POSSESSION    OF   THE   ST.    JOSEPH    SISTERS   AT    ST.    LOUIS, 

MO. 


not.  Monsignor,  deserve  to  have  the 
extraordinary  honors  which  our  mother 
the  Church  bestows  upon  the  other 
bishops  who  went  to  receive  the  crown 
due  to  their  labors?  But  no:  God  has 
decided  that  the  death  of  our  lamented 
Bishop  should  be  a  corollary  of  his  life. 
He  dies  indeed  in  the  midst  of  a  severe 
winter,  when  the  cold  north  wind  chills 
and  stiffens  the  limbs  of  those  who  dare 


that  I  have  before  my  eyes  the  life  and 
death  of  St.  Francis  Xaverius,  the 
Apostle  of  India,  in  the  place  of  Bishop 
Baraga  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians.  How 
happy  in  the  midst  of  his  loneliness  was 
not  our  good  Bishop  to  see  that  God  had 
granted  to  him  to  die  in  the  midst  of  Ins 
flock  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior 
around  which  he  went  many  times  on 
his  snow  shoes,  camping  and  sleeping  in 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


201 


the  snow,  all  that  ut  Christi  lucrum 
faciat.  Oh  life  full  of  merits!  what 
example  for  us!  Though  we,  poor  priests, 
seem  sometimes  obliged  to  do  some- 
thing that  would  appear  hard  to  others, 
living  in  a  civilized  and  populated  coun- 
try :  if  we  compare  our  hardships  to 
what  our  deceased  Bishop  had  to  undergo 
during  the  thirty-six  years  he  passed 
among  the  Indians,  we  are  almost 
ashamed  of  ourselves  and  we  look  as  so 
many  pygmies  by  the  side  of  a  giant. 
How  many  times  indeed  was  he  not  three 
or  four  days  without  eating  whatever, 
when  following  the  Indian  tribes  to  the 
hunting  places,  the  game,  their  only 
resource  to  sustain  life  in  the  middle  of 
the  woods,  was  deficient.  How  many 
times  did  he  not  travel  in  six  or  seven  feet 
of  snow,  three  or  four  hundred  miles: 
obliged  to  climb  on  his  hands  and  feet 
over  the  steep  rocks  of  the  elevation  of 
Lake  Superior?  How  many  times  was  he 
not  obliged  to  cross  rivers,  obliged  to  go 
in  water  up  to  his  neck,  and  in  his  drip- 
ping clothes  continue  his  trail  amid  all 
kinds  of  obstacles?  Do  not  believe,  Mon- 
signor,  that  he  used  to  do  that  only  in  the 
beginning  of  his  career,  or  at  least  when 
he  was  well  and  strong.  Six  years  ago  I 
was  priest  of  the  Cathedral  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  The  Bishop  was  then  sixty-six 
years  of  age  and  his  health  had  greatly 
failed.  The  winter  was  extraordinarily 
severe  and  we  had  about  six  feet  of  snow. 
Newly  arrived  from  France,  I  would 
scarcely  go  out  of  the  house  myself  on 
account  of  the  cold.  But  the  Bishop,  the 
longest  time  he  spent  in  his  residence 
during  that  winter  was  two  weeks.  The 
rest  of  the  time  he  went  from  one  wig- 
wam to  another,  visiting  his  Indians  yet 


gentiles.        He  was  so  glad  of  his  dis- 
covery   that    after    having    come    home 
again   for  a  little  rest  and  at  the  same 
time  to  get  more  wine  for  Mass,  he  start- 
ed alone  to  run  back  to  his  new  conquest. 
It  was  far  from  the  Sault,  but  when  it 
was  to  go  to  rescue  a  soul  he  never  count- 
ed   the    distance.        At   last   he   arrived, 
after   having   slept   many   nights    in   the 
snow.        He    assembled    them    and    told 
them  the  good  tidings  that  he  was  bring- 
ing to  them,  and  after  a  few  days  he  bap- 
tized the  chief  and  all  the  tribe  and  came 
home  again  happy  to  bring  back  so  many 
spoils  that  he  had  taken  from  Satan  and 
he     re-entered     the     Sault     Ste.     Marie 
dragged  on  a  car  of  triumph.  The  Bishop, 
half  frozen,  was  sitting  on  a  little  sleigh 
about  two  inches  higher  than  the  ground 
dragged  by  a  small  Indian  dog.     I  hap- 
pened to  look  through  the  window,  and 
when    I    saw   my    Bishop   with    such   an 
attire  I  could  not  help  weeping.       It  is 
there,  Monsignor,  that  I  saw  that  the  dis- 
ciple was  not   greater  than   the   Master. 
Our  Lord  indeed  in  His  travels  used  to 
ride  on  an  ass  but  our  Bishop  was  per- 
fectly satisfied  to  have  a  dog  for  riding. 
But  why  should  I  go  farther?       It  would 
take  a  whole  volume  to  transcribe  all  the 
interesting  circumstances  of   the   life  of 
our   Bishop.        Besides   we   cannot   anti- 
cipate.      I  hope  soon  for  the  edification 
of  the  shepherd  and  flock,  that  the  life  of 
Bishop  Baraga  will  be  written  and  print- 
ed   to   perpetuate    the    memories    of    him 
whom  we  shall  regret  as  long  as  we  shall 
live. 

The  sickness  which  has  terminated 
fatally  the  life  of  our  departed  Bishop 
began  three  years  ago.  That  sickness, 
the    shaking    palsy,    has    been    the  con- 


202 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


sequence  of  his  hard  life.      It  attacked  at 
first  the  arms  and   the   legs,  afterwards 
the   heart   and   soon   carried   devastation 
through   the   whole   system.        Had    the 
Bishop  at  the  beginning  of  his  sickness 
retired   and  kept  away  from  trouble  he 
would  have  lived  longer,  but  his  nature 
unused    to    inactivity    could    never    rest. 
Though   tormented   day   and    night   and 
fatigued  on  account  of  his  excessive  and 
perpetual   shaking   he   never   relaxed  his 
obligations.  In  summer  he  visited  all  his 
congregation  as  usual,  wrote  himself  all 
his     correspondence,     administered     his 
diocese  as  if  his  health  had  been  just  as 
good   as   ever.        What   was   for   him   a 
decisive  stroke  was  the  attack  of  apoplexy 
that  he  had  the  third  day  of  the  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore.       A  few  days  be- 
fore starting  for  Baltimore  he  had  had 
already  a  kind  of  attack,  but  it  was  only 
the   foretaste  of  the  other  severe  attack 
which  would  have  terminated  his  life  at 
Baltimore,  had  not  God  provided  for  the 
only  remedy  at  the  same  time  that  lie  fell. 
His  pectoral  cross  upon  which  he  fell,  by 
inflicting  a  severe  wound  near  the  carotid 
artery    and    causing    the    blood    to    flow 
abundantly   saved   him    from   an   instan- 
taneous   death.         God     bad     heard     bis 
prayers,  he  had  to  come  up  and  die,  as  he 
used  to  say,  in  the  midst  of  his  flock.  That 
reminds  me  of  the  answer  he  made  me 
one  day  at  the  hospital  of  St.  Agnes  in 
Baltimore.        I  used  to  go  to  visit  him 
before  and  after  sessions  of  the  Council, 
and  once  at  the  request  of  some  bishops, 
I  gave  him  to  understand  that  it  would  be 
better  for  his  health  should  he  stay  the 
rest  of  his  life  in  a  milder  region  than 
Lake    Superior,    that    his    stiffened    and 
already  cold  limbs  would  not  stand  very 


long  the  piercing  blasts  of  our  northern 
country,  and  that  they  would  shorten  his 
days.       Oh,  I  shall  forever  remember  the 
pitiful  and  sorrowful  look  that  his  Lord- 
ship threw  at  me.        He  seemed  to  re- 
prove me  with  the  words  of  Caesar,  Tu 
quoque,  fili  mi.       That  thought  of  being 
left  away  from  his  flock  almqst  caused 
him  another  attack.       No,  said  he  firmly, 
I  must  go  and  die  where  I  have  lived,  and 
even  should  I  die  on  the  way  going  home, 
I  must  try  to  go  back.       The  day  after, 
fearing-  that  some  of  the  Fathers  would 
propose  the  question  to  the  consideration 
of   the   Bishops,   he  came   out   from   the 
hospital,  and  at  his  request,  we  started 
for  home  immediately,  without  even  call- 
ing at   the  Archbishop's   residence.      He 
was  weak,  very  weak,  during  the  whole 
way  on  the  cars,  I  had  to  hold  him  upon 
my  arms,  and  when  necessary  to  change 
cars  I  had  to  carry  him  from  one  car  to 
the  other.       I  scarcely  believed  then,  that 
he  would  live  to  see  Lake  Superior  again. 
I  was  almost  sure  that  he  would  die  on 
the  way  home.   But  no :  God  had  resolved 
after    having    afflicted    him    bodily,    to 
give  him  to  drink  the  chalice  of  affliction 
to  the  dregs.       When  we  arrived  at  Mar- 
quette, we  found  everything  upset.       One 
upi  >n  whom  the  Bishop  had  relied  had  left 
his  post,  to  the  shame  of  the  good  Bishop 
and  the  scandal  of  the  people.       Oh,  the 
tears  the  Bishop  shed!!       Poor  Bishop! 
that  gave  him  the  last  stroke!       His  phy- 
sical and  mental  faculties  have  been  sink- 
ing since.       He  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
in  speaking  and  he  could  not  make  a  step 
alone.        Notwithstanding  his  weakness, 
as  long  as  his  infirmity  was  confined  to 
the  extremities,  we  hoped  that  he  would 
live  until  spring.        Three  weeks  before 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


203 


he  died,  he  sent  for  me.  He  was  very 
low  and  lie  thought  that  he  must  surely 
die  that  same  day.  The  palsy  had  at- 
tacked the  lungs  and  he  could  scarcely 
take  a  breath.  The  remedies  which  he 
took,  gave  him  some  relief.  Eight  days 
after,  the  19th  of  January,  between  one 
and  two  o'clock  of  the  morning  he  died 
after  an  agony  of  a  few  minutes.  He 
had  attained  the  age  of  seventy  years,  five 


man  who  has  been  with  the  Bishop  the 
last  eight  years.  That  servant  whom 
the  Bishop  thought  proper  to  promote  to 
the  minor  orders,  has  attended  to  him 
better  during  his  last  and  long  illness 
than  his  own  father  could  have  done. 
The  Bishop  had  the  greatest  confidence 
in  him,  and  in  all  respects  the  man 
deserved  it.  The  day  before  his  death 
the    Bishop   deposited    in    his   hands   his 


A    RELIQUARY    WHICH    BELONGED   TO   BISHOP    BARAGA.     NOW 
IN    POSSESSION    OF   THE    ST.    JOSEPH    SISTERS.    ST.    LOUIS, 
MO. 


months  and  twenty  days.       He  was  born 

in   1797,  came  to  this  country  in   1824, 

and  in    1830  he  came  to  Lake  Superior 

where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  14 

The  day  after  the  death  of  his  lordship, 

we  heard  the  reading  of  his  testament. 

His  lordship  established  as  the  manager 

of  his  properties,  until  the  coining  of  the 

successor,  Casper  Schulte,  his  sacristan,  a 

^This,      of    course,     is     not     correct.       The 
Author. 


testament  for  safe  keeping,  even  forbade 
him  to  give  it  to  the  priests.  He 
charged  him  to  take  good  care  of  all  his 
things,  books,  letters,  writings,  etc..  and 
give  them  in  good  order  to  the  successor. 
This  has  created  a  false  position  for  the 
servant  and  lie  asked  me  to  write  a  word 
to  your  Lordship,  and  ask  whether  he 
was  not  obliged  to  follow  the  last  advice 
of  his  master  and  lord,  and  according  to 


204 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


his  command  keep  safe  all  that  belonged 
to  the  Bishop  and  keep  the  whole  under 
lock  until  the  arrival  of  the  successor? 
Excuse  my  prolixity,  Monsignor,  and 
allow  me  to  subscribe  myself,  of  Your 
Grace, 

The  most  obedient  son  in  Xto, 
H.  Bourion, 
Pastor  of  St  Paul's,  Negaunee,  Mich.15 

The  body  of  Bishop  Baraga  lay  in 
state,  in  the  Cathedral,  for  twelve  days. 
It  was  vested  in  a  white  cope  and  the 
precious  mitre.  They  had  but  one 
purple  vestment  in  the  Cathedral :  the 
approaching  ienten  season  claimed  it  for 
its  ritual  because  another  one  could  not 
be  imported  in  time,  and  it  was  decided  to 
give  the  beloved  Bishop  the  white  cope 
and  his  precious  mitre.  The  interment 
was  postponed  with  the  fond  expectation 
that  a  neighboring  bishop,  would  come  to 
officiate  and  likewise  to  give  the  diocesan 
priests  a  chance  to  arrive  from  their  dis- 
tant missions.  Their  first  wish  did  not 
realize.  Bishop  Henni  of  Milwaukee 
reached  Green  Bay  by  rail,  when  just 
then  a  snow  storm  made  further  travel 
by  stage  impossible.  He  wrote  his  con- 
dolence and  returned  home.  Likewise 
only  five  priests,  besides  Father  Jacker, 
could  reach  Marquette.  On  the  31st 
day  of  January  (1868),  assisted  by  the 
Revs.  Terhorst,  Bourion,  Duroc,  Burns 
and  Vertin,  Father  Jacker  held  the  last 
obsequies.  Under  the  Cathedral  close  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin  altar  a  brick  vault 
had  been  constructed  and  there  the  plain 


16  The  original  of  the  above  was  presented  to 
The  Catholic  Archives  of  America  by  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Elder  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

From  the  Catholic  Archives  of  America  in  the 
Bishops'    Memorial    Hall,    Notre    Dame,    Indiana. 

Martin  I.  J.  Griffin,  Historical  Researches. 
October,  1897. 


pine  coffin  with  its  precious  contents  was 
deposited. 

End  of  April,  1874,  during  a  mission 
given  by  Father  Cooney,  C.  S.  C,  the 
vault  was  opened  with  the  permission  of 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Mrak.  The  remains 
were  found  in  a  life-like  state  of  preser- 
vation, and  were  viewed  by  the  bishop 
and  the  missionary,  as  also  by  Fathers 
Eis,  Langner,  Brown  and  the  student 
Peter  Menard.  When  in  1879  fire 
reduced  the  first  Cathedral  to  ashes,  the 
coffin  was  taken  out  of  its  repository  and, 
with  permission  of  Bishop  Vertin,  opened 
again.  This  time  also  the  body  was  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation.  To  await 
the  upbuilding  of  a  new  Cathedral  the 
remains  were  temporarily  re-interred  in 
the  sand,  under  the  episcopal  residence. 
After  twenty  years,  out  of  the  ashes  of 
the  old  Cathedral,  through  the  muni  li- 
cence of  Bishop  Vertin,  rose  the  majestic 
new  stone  Cathedral.  In  the  parterre  of 
the  south-west  corner  a  magnificent  vault 
was  erected  for  the  burial  of  the  bishops 
of  Marquette.  Six  niches  are  there  pro- 
vided. The  first  one  to  occupy  was  the 
first  bishop  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette. Baraga's  remains  were  exhumed 
in  September  1897.  Although  the  dry- 
decav  had  done  its  work,  the  body  was 
still  complete  notwithstanding  that  the 
nn  listure  of  the  sand  had  eaten  up  the 
boards  of  the  coffin.  All  that  was 
mortal  of  the  saintly  Baraga  was  lifted 
into  a  steel  casket  and  deposited  in  the 
place  prepared  for  it.  This  ceremony 
was  witnessed  by  Bishop  Vertin,  Fathers 
Bourion,  F.  Eis,  and  the  student  A.  J 
Rezek.  The  inscription  on  the  marble 
slab  enclosing  the  tomb,  was  written  by 
ourselves    and     the    lettering    done    by 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


205 


Messrs.    Michael    Tibor   &    Son,    marble 
workers  in  the  city.     It  reads  as  follows : 

J.  H.  S. 
HIC   JACET  CORPUS    ILLMI   AC   REVDM! 

FRIDERICI    BARAGA,    D.    D. 

OTTAWA  ET  CHIPPEWA  INDIANORUM 

APOSTOLI.     IMI  EP1SC0PI 

MARIANOPOLITANI    ET  MARQUETTENSIS. 

NATUS  DIE  29A  JUNII,  1797,  IN 

CARNIOLIA,  AUSTRIA.     ORDINATUS 

PRESBYTER  LABACI  DIE  2IA  7BRIS  1823. 

CONSECRATUS  EPISCOPUS  DIE  I A 

9BRIS    1853;  OBIIT  DIE   I9A  JANUARII. 

1868." 

R.  I.  P. 

To  most  of  men  the  tombstone  is  the 
keystone  to  their  memory ;  not  so  with 
Baraga.  Hidden,  almost  among  the 
foundations  of  the  imposing  Cathedral, 
his  memorial  is  written  on  a  marble  slab, 
(iod's  sun  never  sheds  his  golden  light 
upon  it,  and  not  a  dozen  people  read  the 
inscription  in  a  whole  year,  but  his  name 
is  upon  the  tongue  of  more  people  in 
every  single  day  of  the  year  than  of  any 
living  person  in  the  United  States,  bar- 
ring the  Chief  Executive.  The  merits 
of  Bishop  Baraga  are  so  great  for  the 
betterment  of  mankind  that  grateful 
hearts  have  striven  to  surpass  one  other 
in  perpetuating  his  name  among  their 
posterity.  First  of  all  the  present 
village  of  Baraga  was  named  for  him. 
Then,  when  the  new  county  was  being 
organized  under  an  act  of  Legislature 
February  19,  1875,  it  was  thought  fit  to 


16  J.  H.  S.  Here  lies  the  body  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Frederic  Baraga.  D.  D..  the  Apostle  of  Ottawa 
and  Chippewa  Indians.  First  Bishop  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  and  Marquette  Diocese.  Born  June  29, 
1797.  in  Carniolia,  Austria.  Ordained  Priest,  in 
Laibach,  September  2T,  1823.  Consecrated  Bishop, 
Cincinnati.  Nov.  I,  1853.  Died  Jan.  19,  1868.  R. 
I.  P. 


call  it  Baraga.  The  act  is  summarized: 
"That  part  of  Townships  47,  48,  49  and 
50  north,  lying  east  of  the  Sturgeon  Riv- 
er, or  the  South  Branch  thereof,  or  Range 
35  west,  is  hereby  detached  from  the 
Ci  unity  of  Houghton,  and  is  hereby  orga- 
nized into  a  county  to  be  known  and 
designated  as  the  county  of  Baraga.  The 
count}-  seat  of  said  county  is  herebv  es- 
tablished at  the  village  of  L'Anse.17 

Even  though  late,  yet  the  city  of  Mar- 
quette has  also  paid  its  due  tribute  to 
Baraga.  September  23,  1903  the  City 
Council  changed  Superior  Street,  run- 
ning east  to  west,  past  the  St.  Peter's 
Cathedral,  into  Baraga  Avenue.  This 
act,  although  unanimously  concurred  in 
by  the  Honorable  Alderman,  was  chiefly 
due  to  the  Hon.  Peter  White.  "I  have 
partly  paid  my  debt,"  said  Mr.  White. 
Barring  the  two  guides  who  have  accom- 
panied Bishop  Baraga  on  almost  all 
his  travels,  William  Mirron,  now  resid- 
ing at  Bay  .Mills,  and  John  Bouche, 
Indian  guide  at  the  Sault,  there  is 
no  other  man  living  who  knew  Bishop 
Baraga  better  and  was  more  intimately 
acquainted  with  him  than  Mr.  White. 
Their  path  in  life  crossed  many  times,  but 
the  story  of  the  incident  which  indebted 
Mr.  White  to  Baraga  more  than  anything 
in  their  common  life  runneth  thus: 

"Over  fifty  years  ago,  one  winter,  I 
was  making  my  way  to  Keweenaw  Coun- 
ty ;  that  trail  led  us  from  L'Anse  by  way 
of  the  Portage  Entry,  Portage  River  and 
from  there  overland  to  Eagle  River.  In 
crossing  Portage  Pake  I  met,  or  rather 
overtook,  Father  Baraga  and  his  guide, 
on   their   way  to   Eagle   Harbor.      As  I 


History  of  U.   P.  of  Mich. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


A   LIKENESS    OF   BISHOP    BARAGA    SHORTLY    BEFORE    HIS    DEMISE. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


207 


spoke  the  Chippewa  language,  Father 
Baraga  seemed  delighted  to  meet  me  and 
in  course  of  our  conversation,  while  walk- 
ing on,  he  most  cordially  invited  me  to 
call  on  him  at  the  Mission,  and  I  cheer- 
fully promised  him  that  I  would  at  the 
first  opportunity.  This  was  my  first  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  Baraga,  though  I 
had  met  him  before.  I  believe  the  first 
time  in  Abner  Sherman's  store  at  L'Anse. 
We  separated  then,  after  going  a  few 
miles  together,  because  my  party  of  three 
wanted  to  go  faster  than  Father  Baraga 
was  taking  it.  I  spent  two  weeks  at  Ke- 
weenaw Point — and  other  points — on  my 
way  back  I  stopped  over  night  with  one 
of  the  two  men  who  lived  at  "the  Entry" 
and  started  about  eight  o'clock  next 
morning  for  L'Anse.  I  soon  found  the 
swamps  that  bordered  the  shore  impene- 
trably thickly  wooded  so  that  I  preferred 
to  wade  along  the  shore  in  the  water. 
Finding  the  water  too  cold  for  traveling 
convenience,  I  struck  inland  and  to  my 
satisfaction  saw  an  open  space  of  consid- 
erable size.  .  Without  hesitation  I  took 
for  the  open  route  and  passing  from  one 
to  the  other  I  must  have  struck  and 
crossed  seven  or  eight  of  these  marshes. 
It  was  splendid  snow  shoeing !  I  followed 
them  regardless  of  proper  direction  and 
bye  and  bye  I  struck  nice  hard  wood  tim- 
ber and  traveled  on  faster  and  faster  rea- 
lizing that  I  must  have  lost  some  time  on 
the  meadows.  I  had  not  seen  sun  al!  that 
day ;  at  4  p.  m.  I  came  to  a  little  valley — a 
brook  running  through  its  bottom — I 
crossed  the  brook  and  ascended  the  little 
fifteen  or  twenty  foot  hill  on  the  other 
side,  and  as  I  got  to  the  top,  to  my  aston- 
ishment, I  noticed  the  bright  reflection 
of  the  sun  on  the  trees  ahead  of  me!  I 


knew  at  once  that  in  order  to  reach 
L'Anse —  the  head  of  the  Bay —  I  should 
have  been  going  west,  towards  the  setting 
sun.  So  I  turned  back,  crossed  the  brook 
again  and  struck  fast  in  the  direction  of 
the  last  glimpse  I  had  of  the  sun.  In  fif- 
teen or  twenty  minutes  I  found  a  snow- 
shoe  trail  and  said  to  myself  'now  I  am 
all  right  again,'  but  in  another  twenty 
minutes  I  struck  another  trail.  I  then 
measured  the  tracks  with  my  own  snow- 
shoe  and  to  my  dismay  found  that  I  was 
the  fellow  who  was  running  around  in  a 
circle.  By  this  time  it  was  getting  rap- 
idly dark.  I  was  in  possession  of  a  good 
double  blanket  and  had  plenty  of  matches 
but  no  axe.  However  I  experienced  no 
trouble  finding  enough  dead  limbs  to  make 
a  roaring  fire :  but  did  not  sleep  much  that 
night.  I  realized  that  I  was  lost  and  did 
not  know  which  way  to  go,  except,  per- 
haps to  follow  my  tracks  of  the  day  be- 
fore, some  twenty  odd  miles  back  to  the 
Portage  Entry,  if  I  could  find  them 
again.  I  had  two  cans  of  oysters,  one  I 
had  already  eaten.  In  the  morning  about 
seven  o'clock  I  was  about  to  start  on  my 
exploration  when  I  heard  an  Indian  yell 
off  to  the  left  and  soon  another  one  to  the 
right.  I  kept  answering  them  and  in 
twenty  minutes  two  Indians  reached  me 
from  opposite  directions.  'The  priest 
sent  us  to  find  you'  they  said,  and  in 
less  than  an  hour  I  was  in  Father  Bara- 
ga's house.  Father  Baraga  returning 
from  his  tramp  to  Eagle  Harbor  arrived 
at  the  Entry  an  hour  after  I  left  there; 
they  did  not  follow  my  trail  for  they 
knew  a  better  one,  consequently  arrived 
at  the  Mission  that  night.  Father  Baraga 
knew  that  I  had  not  passed  there  and  at 
once  surmised  that  I  must  be  in  the  woods 


208 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


and  had  probably  lost  my  way.  So  he 
sent  those  two  Indians  to  look  for  me, 
next  morning  as  soon  as  they  could  see. 
Father  Baraga  did  me  a  good  turn,  and 
perhaps  actually  saved  my  life.  If  my 
strength  did  not  fail  me,  I  could  have 
gotten  out  before  night.  Still  I  often  say 
that  'he  saved  my  life.'  Hence  my  debt 
of  gratitude." 

This    story   is    from   the   pen   of    Mr. 
White  himself. 

Facing  St.  Peter's  Cathedral  in  Mar- 
quette rises  an  imposing  structure,  the 
Parochial  School.  Over  its  main  facade 
is  written  "Baraga  School,"  while  over 
the  entrance  from  Baraga  Ave.  the  gilded 
letters  of  "Baraga  Auditorium"  friendly 
greet  the  visitor.  Tt  is  all  the  work  of  the 
indefatigable  Cathedral  pastor,  Rev.  Jo- 
seph G.  Pinten.  On  February  17,  1903 
the  St.  Joseph's  Academy,  where  the  par- 
ish school  was  also  located,  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  He  at  once  understood  his  task. 
With  unrelenting  zeal  he  set  to  work  to 
upbuild  a  school  worthy  of  the  first  parish 
of  the  diocese  and  to  perpetuate,  more 
than  ever,  the  name  of  the  first  bishop  of 
Marquette.  He  has  accomplished  both. 
The  new  school  is  a  worthy  counterpart 
of  architecture  to  the  brown-stone  Cathe- 
dral and  is  a  beautiful  monument  to  Bish- 
op Frederic  Baraga.  Father  Pinten  had 
not  only  in  view  to  rear  this  grand  monu- 
ment to  the  name  of  Baraga  but  to  per- 
petuate his  inestimable  merits  for  educa- 
tion, for  in  his  time  there  was  not  a  con- 
gregation in  his  diocese  without  a  school. 
As  if  divine  Providence  had  directed  the 
course  of  events,  on  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  Baraga's  Consecration  the  corner 
stone  was  laid.  On  the  feast  of  All  Saints 
1903   the   semi-centenary    was    observed 


throughout  the  diocese.  For  this  oc- 
casion the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Eis,  published 
the  following  circular : 

"The  Feast  of  All  Saints  this  year 
marks  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  day 
when  our  saintly  predecessor,  Bishop 
Baraga,  received  episcopal  consecration 
from  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Purcell, 
in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati.  It  is  in 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Church 
that  we  honor  and  venerate  those  who, 
whilst  here  on  earth,  were  eminent  for 
their  virtues  and  sanctity.  It  is  therefore 
meet  and  just  that  we  commemorate  this 
historic  event  in  the  history  of  our  Dio- 
cese in  a  solemn  and  fitting  way.  The 
apostolic  zeal,  virtues  and  labors  of  Bish- 
op Baraga  are  undoubtedly  well  known  to 
you.  There  is,  however,  one  particular 
aspect  in  which  the  memory  of  Frederick 
Baraga  will  occupy  a  special  niche  in  the 
history  of  Michigan :  He  was  the  Apostle 
of  the  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  Indians.  It 
would  certainly  be  a  great  pity  that  the 
tradition  of  such  a  "clarum  et  venerabile 
nomen,"  the  glory  of  our  Diocese,  should 
be  allowed  to  die  out  by  lapse  of  time. 
We  consider  this  occasion  exceedingly 
propitious  to  revive  his  hallowed  mem<  >ry 
and  to  perpetuate  it  to  future  generations. 
What  a  great  contrast  between  now  and 
the  time  when  Father  Baraga  first  came 
to  this  northern  country !  Almost  every 
vestige  of  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries 
had  disappeared.  The  churches  built  by 
them  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  at  St.  Ig- 
nace  had  been  leveled  to  the  ground,  and 
no  traces  of  them  remained.  Thousands 
of  poor  savages  were  still  steeped  in  pa- 
ganism and  there  was  none  to  bring  them 
the  glad  tidings  of  Christianity.  It  was 
then  that  God,  in  His  inscrutable  designs, 


SAULT  STE    MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


209 


called  the  young  and  zealous  priest.  Fath- 
er Baraga,  to  leave  his  native  country, 
Carniola,  to  give  up  all  ease  and  every 
comfort  and  to  go  forth  and  plant  the 
standard  of  salvation  on  virgin  soil  and 
to  consecrate  the  remainder  of  his  life  to 
the  conversion  of  the  Indian  The  world 
will   never   know   the   innumerable   trials 


and  with  frost,  and  sleep  departed  from 
my  eyes. 

"During  the  past  fifty  years  wonderful 
changes  have  taken  place.  On  all  sides 
cities  and  villages  have  sprung  into  exis- 
tence. There  is  no  town  of  any  size  with- 
out its  church  and  priest.  In  our  cities. 
Catholic    schools,    the    nurseries    of    the 


THE   REMAINS   OF   BISHOP   BARAGA    IN    STATE  AT   ST.    i'ETER  S 
CATHEDRAL,      MARQUETTE,      MICH. 


and  hardships  which  he  encountered  dur- 
ing his  long  apostolate  of  thirty-seven 
years.  In  truth  could  he  say  with  Tacob 
grazing  the  sheep  of  Laban :  Die  noc- 
tuque  aestu  urebar  et  gelu,  fugiebatque 
somnus  ab  oculis  meis.  (Gen.  31,  40) 
"Day  and  night  was  I  parched  with  heat 


church,  have  been  erected.  The  frame 
churches  of  thirty  and  forty  years  ago 
have  answered  their  purpose  well  and 
are  now  gradually  being  superseded  by 
large  massive  and  dignified  edifices.  The 
cathedral  of  our  own  city  is  a  most  ele- 
gant  structure,   and   will   ever   remain   a 


210 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


monument  to  the  piety,  zeal  and  liber- 
ality of  the  good  Bishop  Vertin.  Truly, 
God  had  blest  and  multiplied  the  seed 
sown  by  Bishop  Baraga,  who  was  in 
truth  a  High  priest  after  God's  own 
Heart. 

"It  was  a  source  of  great  gratification 
to  us  to  learn  that  the  City  Council  of 
Marquette  had  unanimously  voted  to  re- 
name one  of  its  principal  streets  of  the 
city  and  call  it  Baraga  Avenue.  The 
Council  is  to  be  highly  commended  for  its 
noble  and  generous  action,  whereby  it 
paid  a  glorious  and  lasting  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  first  Catholic  Bishop  of 
Upper  Michigan,  thus  testifying  to  pos- 
terity Marquette's  affection  and  venera- 
tion for  him. 

"We  feel  it  to  be  a  matter  of  strict 
justice  to  commemorate  this  anniversary 
by  a  special  observance  throughout  the 
diocese.  We  therefore  direct  that  in  all 
parishes,  on  the  Feast  of  All  Saints,  after 
the  last  Mass,  the  "Te  Deum,"  or  hymn 
"Holy  God"  be  chanted,  together  with 
the  usual  prayers  of  the  Ritual  in 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
singular  graces  and  blessings  vouchsafed 
to  our  diocese  during  the  fifty  years  since 
it  was  first  established  an  Apostolic  Vi- 
cariate. 

"It  is  moreover  our  ardent  wish  that 
on  All  Saints'  day  Pastors  speak  to  their 
people  on  the  labors  and  virtues  of  Bish- 
op Baraga,  and  thus  acquaint  them  with 
the  chief  events  in  his  life,  reminding 
them  at  the  same  time  of  the  debt  of  grat- 
itude and  love  which  they  owe  to  him. 

"In  our  Cathedral  there  will  be  a  sol- 
emn service  of  thanksgiving  at  which 
Bishop  Messnier,  of  Green  Bay,  will  de- 
liver the  panegyric.     In  the  afternoon  of 


the  same  day  we  will  bless  and  lay  the 
cornerstone  of  our  new  parochial  school, 
which  is  being  erected  and  which  will  be 
dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Bara- 
ga— 'Cujus  memoria  semper  erit  in  bene- 
dictione.' 

"In  conclusion,  let  me  beg  of  you,  dear 
Fathers,  to  offer  fervent  and  repeated 
prayers  to  God,  that  in  His  goodness  He 
may  deign,  ere  long,  to  inspire  His  church 
to  inscribe  the  name  of  Frederic  Baraga 
— in  the  book  of  her  Saints — where  it 
shall  never  fade.  "Fulgebunt.  .  .  .  qui  ad 
justitiam  erudiunt  multos,  quasi  stellae 
in  perpetuas  aeternitates." 

"We  direct  that  this  circular  be  read  at 
all  Masses  on  the  Feast  of  All  Saints. 

Believe  me  to  be  ever  yours  faithfully 
and  devotedly, 

»£■  Frederick  Eis, 

Bishop  of  Saitlt  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette. 

Given  from  our  Residence  at  Mar- 
quette, the  28th  day  of  October,  A.  D. 
1903,  the  Feast  of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude." 

In  the  Cathedral  Bishop  Eis  held  a 
solemn  Pontifical  Highmass,  assisted  by 
Monsignor  C.  Langner  as  presbyter  as- 
sistens,  Rev.  M.  Faust,  and  T.  J.  Atfield 
deacons  of  honor;  A.  J.  Rezek  deacon, 
D.  Donovan  S.  J.  subdeacon ;  J.  G.  Pint- 
en  and  F.  X.  Earth  masters  of  cere- 
monies. Besides  the  Rt.  Rev.  S.  G.  Mess- 
nier there  were  present :  Msgr,  J.  J.  Fox, 
now  bishop  of  Green  Bay.  Wis.,  Dr.  Se- 
linger  of  St.  Francis  Seminary,  Rev.  M. 
Kehoe  of  Ishpeming,  Rev.  Raymond 
Jacques,  and  J.  A.  Sauriol  of  Marquette. 
In  his  stirring  sermon  for  the  occasion. 
Bishop  Messmer  detailed  the  growth  of 
the  diocese,  showing  how  after  the  little 
mission  on  the  shore  of  Keweenaw  Bay 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


211 


was  started,  congregation  after  congre- 
gation was  formed ;  how  from  the  first 
baptism  by  Father  Baraga  the  population 
has  risen  to  upward  of  seventy  thousand ; 
that  apace  with  the  number  of  congrega- 
tions and  increase  of  population  the  num- 
ber of  priests  from  two  has  risen  to  sev- 
enty; how  with  the  requirements  of  time 
and  circumstances  churches  were  built 
and  rebuilt;  how  on  the  foundation  of 
Baraga's  labors,  throughout  this  vast  ter- 
ritory of  Upper  Michigan,  churches, 
schools,  convents,  hospitals  and  orphan- 
ages have  sprung  into  existence,  all  for 
the  greater  glory  of  God  and  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  From  this  categorical  enu- 
meration the  Bishop  switched  on  to  the 
general  development  of  the  church  from 
the  mission  of  the  Apostles  to  the  present 
day.  In  an  admirable  manner  he  wove, 
before  his  hearers,  the  crown  of  glories 
of  the  Catholic  church — her  combats  and 
her  victories. 

In  the  afternoon,  at  3  o'clock  the  cere- 
monies of  the  corner  stone  laying:  com- 
menced.  On  the  platform  besides  the  two 
bishops  and  the  aforementioned  clergy, 
were  members  of  the  City  Council,  the 
building  committee  and  other  prominent 
citizens.  Surrounded  by  the  school  chil- 
dren, Catholic  societies  and  a  concourse 
of  over  four  thousand  people,  Bishop  Eis 
briefly  made  allusion  to  the  occasion,  and 
then  introduced  Bishop  Messmer,  who 
spoke  as  follows : 

Bishop  Messmer's  Address. 

My  Dear  Friends,  Ladies  and  Gen- 
tlemen: Let  me  first  of  all  offer  my 
heartfelt  congratulations  to  the  members 
of  this  congregation,  for  whose  benefit 
this  magnificent  structure  is  being  erect- 
ed.    It  is  always  an  occasion  of  joy  and 


congratulation  to  any  Catholic  congrega- 
tion, in  fact  to  the  Catholic  population  at 
large,  when  another  of  our  buildings,  des- 
tined for  the  religious  education  of  our 
children,  goes  up.  I  dare  say  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  congratulation,  not  only  for  Cath- 
olics, but  in  general  for  all  those  who 
stand  for  principles  of  morality  and  prin- 
ciples of  religion  as  the  foundation  of  the 
welfare  and  prosperity  of  society  at  large. 
It  is  one  of  those  occasions,  my  dear 
friends,  when  an  opportunity  is  offered  to 
us  to  state  and  explain  the  principles  upon 
which  the  po'icy  of  the  American  Catho- 
lics in  maintaining  their  own  common 
school  system  are  based.  It  is  necessary, 
and  it  is  well  that  it  is  necessary,  that  we 
should  not  let  an  occasion  of  this  kind 
pass  without  stating  and  explaining  that 
principle,  little  understood  as  yet,  by  the 
majority  of  our  non-Catholic  fellow  citi- 
zens. There  are  a  great  many  false  and 
wrong  ideas  still  holding  sway  among 
the  non-Catholic  Americans  as  to  the  real 
cause,  object  and  purpose  of  our  schools. 
They  think  that  the  only,  or  possibly  at 
least,  the  main  purpose  is  that  in  this  way 
we  may  strengthen  the  church,  and  may 
increase  the  number  of  her  members  and 
her  followers,  for  the  sole  purpose, 
gradually  to  control  the  affairs  of  the 
country.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  a 
great  many  are  still  entertaining  ideas 
of  this  kind.  Now,  let  me  assure  you,  my 
dear  friends,  in  the  most  solemn  manner, 
that  this  is  not  the  correct  idea.  It  is  in- 
deed, the  purpose  that  we  may  keep  our 
own  children  in  our  church,  in  the  church 
of  their  baptism.  It  is  the  idea  and  the 
purpose  to  give  to  these  children,  and  in- 
still into  their  souls  during  their  school 
years  a  sincere  and  loyal  love  towards 


212 


IJISTORV  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


their  church — that  church  which  in  our 
most  sacred  conviction  we  believe  to  be 
the  true  church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

However,  as  regards  the  idea  that 
all  this  is  to  be  but  a  means,  a  great 
trick,  to  obtain  a  political  or  social  pre- 
dominance, is  nothing  but  a  chimerical 
dream  of  our  adversaries.  Again,  it  is 
sometimes  stated  that  the  reason  why 
bishops  and  priests  of  the  country  insist 
so  strongly  on  the  American  Catholics 
having  their  own  schools,  wherein  their 
children  would  be  under  their  religious 
control,  was  not  for  education  or  instruc- 
tion, but  to  keep  them  in  ignorance,  keep 
from  them  that  broader  and  wider  in- 
struction, as  it  is  called,  that  would  be  im- 
parted to  them  in  the  schools  furnished  by 
the  state,  to  close  their  minds  against  the 
ideas  of  liberty  and  independence  and 
patriotism  that  they  are  taught  in  the 
schools  of  the  country.  This,  my  dearly 
beloved  people,  I  do  not  hesitate  for  one 
moment  to  brand  as  a  calumny,  as  a 
slander  outright  and  pure,  nothing  else. 
Why,  this  very  fact  strikes  against  it.  Do 
not  the  children  of  our  schools  learn 
everything  that  is  taught  in  other 
schools?  Who  dare  say  that  our  children 
growing  up  in  the  country — our  boys  and 
girls — grow  up  with  less  love  and  less 
enthusiasm  and  less  loyalty  toward  our 
American  country  than  the  children  of 
other  schools?  Who  can  show  even  one  ii? 
all  these  years  during  which  millions  of 
Catholics  have  been  concerned  in  the 
affairs  of  the  country,  have  taken  their 
ranks  and  their  positions  in  public,  as  well 
as  private  capacities  among  other  citizens, 
who  can  point  out  one  attempt  against  the 
country,  one  fact  speaking  against  the 
loyalty  of  Catholics  to  their  country?  No, 


we  furnish  them  with  the  same  educa- 
tion ;  we  try  to  instill  into  their  minds  the 
same  amount  of  knowledge. 

i  >ut  over  and  above  this,  we  also  firmly 
stand,  as  your  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
just  told  you,  for  a  knowledge  of  another 
kind — a  knowledge  far  more  necessary 
— a  knowledge  more  useful  not  only  for 
themselves,  not  for  the  individual  alone, 
a  knowledge  more  useful  and  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  society,  for 
the  state  at  large  as  well  as  the  church — 
that  is  for  religious  knowledge  and  re- 
ligious education.  The  principle  upon 
which  our  school  policy  is  based,  and  the 
principle  for  which  the  Catholics  of  this 
country  have  fought  all  these  years  and 
made  great  sacrifices,  the  principle  for 
which  at  least  twenty  millions  of  dollars 
every  single  year  are  spent  in  support  of 
the  parochial  schools  is  simply  this :  that 
in  order  to  make  man  what  he  ought  to 
be,  in  order  to  make  him  a  useful  member 
of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  church,  the 
education  that  is  given  to  him  while  a 
child  must  be  religious,  and  that  mere  in- 
tellectual education,  a  mere  knowledge 
and  storing  of  the  mind  without  forma- 
ti<  hi  of  character,  without  forming  or 
shaping  the  will,  without  those  impulses 
and  those  convictions  that  make  you  do 
what  is  right,  and  keep  away  from  what 
is  wrong,  that  kind  of  education  is  false. 

It  is,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  a  matter  of 
congratulation  for  us  that  thousands  of 
our  non-Catholic  fellow  citizens  are  now 
beginning  to  see  this  great  and  important 
matter  in  the  same  light  as  we  do.  Why 
only  this  year  at  the  Convention  of  the 
National  Educational  Association  of  the 
United  States,  comprising  we  might  say 
the  most  of  the  educators  of  our  country, 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


213 


representing  the  high  schools  as  well  as 
common  schools,  primary  as  well  as  sec- 
ondary education,  professors  from  the 
universities,  teachers  of  country  schools, 
consisting  of  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  dele- 
gates assembled  in  Boston  at  their  na- 
tional convention,  when  this  question  of 
religious  education — not  in  the  church. 
not  in  the  home,  but  in  the  schools  of 
the  country — came  up,  a  majority  of 
them  declared  that  the  time  had  come 
when  such  religious  training  has  become 
necessary  for  our  country.  I  say  it  is  a 
matter  of  congratulation  and  it  is  well 
for  us  to  take  notice  of  it,  that  not  even 
two  years  have  past  since  another  nation- 
al organization  was  started  here  in  the 
United  States  for  that  purpose,  asking 
simply  that  religion  be  taught  not  only 
in  the  churches,  at  home,  and  in  the  fam- 
ily, but  that  religion,  at  least  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  divine  religion,  be 
taught  in  the  schools. 

Where  educators  of  the  country  come 
together,  where  fair-minded  men  and  wo- 
men take  up  this  discussion  of  the  neces- 
sity of  religious  education  of  the  children, 
everywhere  the  Catholic  idea,  the  princi- 
ple for  which  the  American  Catholics  are 
greatly  blamed,  that  principle  finds  more 
and  more  ground  and  support.  It  is 
gradually  making  its  way  into  the  public 
opinion  of  the  American  people,  and  let 
us  hope  that  the  time  will  soon  come 
when  there  will  be  no  division  among  us, 
and  that  all  will  realize  that  it  is  not 
merely  for  the  welfare  of  the  church, 
whether  you  believe  in  the  Catholic 
church  or  in  any  other  church,  that  it  is 
not  merely  for  the  sake  of  Christianity, 
but  that  it  is  also  for  the  safe  guarding 
of  the  nation,  that  education  is  accom- 


panied by  religious  instruction.  Let  us 
hope  that  it  will  be  realized  that  it  is  nec- 
essary to  raise  an  honest,  just,  true,  and 
good  citizen,  a  people  and  a  nation  based 


MONUMENT   ERECTED   TO   BISHOP    BARAGA 
AT   DOBERNICE. 


upon  the  principles  of  justice  and  right- 
eousness. This,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is 
the  idea  of  the  Catholic  parochial  school, 


214 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


the  idea  that  the  members  of  this  congre- 
gation give  expression  to  by  building  this 
magnificent  structure.  Again,  I  beg  to 
offer  my  congratulations,  and  wish  you 
God's  blessing  for  the  successful  comple- 
tion of  this  institution.18 

Following  Bishop  Messner's  conclu- 
sion, Bishop  Eis  introduced  Hon.  Peter 
White  who  briefly  referred  to  his  long  ac- 
quaintance with  Bishop  Baraga.  He  was 
happy  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  when 
a  man  is  being  honored  whom  he  bad  per- 
sonally known,  revered  and  loved.  Mr. 
White  told  the  audience  that  it  does  him 
double  pleasure  to  assist  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner  stone  of  the  Baraga  school,  be- 
cause he  was  present  when  Bishop  Bara- 
ga laid  the  corner  stone  of  the  first  Cathe- 
dral and  when  he  dedicated  it ;  he  saw  the 
first  Cathedral  burn,  and  a  new  one  built 
and  consecrated.  He  in  conclusion  ex- 
tended to  the  pastor  and  congregation  his 
congratulations  for  the  noble  work  they 
have  undertaken,  and  expressed  the  hope 
that  the  new  school  would  be  among  the 
best  of  the  city. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  corner  stone  is 
the  following  inscription : 

J.  H.  S. 

DIE  OMNIUM  SANCTORUM 

ANNIVERSARIO  QUINQUAGESIMO  CONSECRA 

TIONIS   FRIDERICI    BARAGA 

PRIMI  MARIANOPOLITANAE  ET  MARQUETTEN- 

SIS  DIOCESEOS   ANTISTITIS, 

FRIDERICUS  EIS 

QUARTUS   EJUSDEM  DIOCESEOS  EPISCOPUS 

HUNC  LAPIDEM  ANGULAREM  POSUIT 

POSTERIS  IN  MEMORIAM. 

M  C  M    III.19 


18  Mining  Journal  Nov.  2,  1903. 

19  On  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  Consecration  of  Frederic  Baraga, 
the  first  bishop  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Frederic  Eis, 
the  fourth  bishop  of  the  same  diocese,  has  laid 
this  corner  stone  for  posterity  in  remembrance, 
1903- 


On  the  south  side  is  inscribed : 

Rt.  Rev.  Frederic  Eis,  Bishop. 

Rev.  Joseph  G.  Pinten,  Rector. 

Building  Committee : 

Joseph  F.  Neidhart,  Charles  R.  McCabe, 

Francis  Nys,   John  J.  Connolly,  George 

Barnes,  George  Ciesielski. 

John  D.  Chubb.  Architect. 

Nov.  1,  A.  D.  1903. 

The  most  recent  token  of  esteem  and 
veneration  for  Bishop  Baraga  is  ex- 
pressed in  a  resolution  of  an  association 
of  Slovenian  priests  in  America  at  their 
third  annual  meeting  in  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
October  25,  1904,  to  name  it  "Baraga  As- 
sociation" and  to  have  it  incorporated 
under  that  name.  Monsignor  Buh  fath- 
ered the  resolution 

Likewise,  a  lasting  monument  was 
raised  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Baraga 
in  his  native  country.  In  1897  occurred 
the  centenary  of  his  birth.  This  did  not 
escape  the  attention  of  his  countrymen 
who  were  always  proud  that  Baraga's 
cradle  stood  in  their  midst;  nor  did  they 
wish  to  make  the  occasion  of  passing  im- 
portance only,  but  wanted  to  leave  to 
posterity  a  permanent  mark  of  their  es- 
teem. By  public  subscription  money  was 
raised  to  erect  in  the  parish  church  at 
Dobernice,  where  Bishop  Baraga  was 
baptized,  a  marble  bust  of  him.  It  was 
executed  by  Aloysius  Progar,  an  aca- 
demic sculptor  of  Klagenfurth.  Over 
half  the  cost  was  defrayed  by  the  Sloven- 
ian priests  of  America,  but  the  credit  for 
so  fitting  a  centennial  commemoration  is 
wholly  due  to  the  present  pastor  of  Do- 
bernice, the  Rev.  Charles  Jancigar.  who 
with  a  commendable  foresight  not  only 
fathered  the  idea  of  the  monument,  but 
made  timely  arrangements  to  have  it  in 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


215 


place  on  the  anniversary  day.  Accident- 
ally this  day  occurred  at  a  period  when 
the  Lazarist  Fathers  were  conducting  a 
Mission  in  the  parish.  This,  of  course, 
precluded  temporarily  the  secular  cele- 
bration, but  the  unveiling  of  the  monu- 
ment was  done  in  presence  of  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  people ;  the  oration 
was  delivered  by  the  Lazarist,  Father 
Krivec. 

On  the  monument  is  inscribed  in  the 
Slovenian  language: 

"Irenej  Friderik  Baraga,  roj.  v  gradu 
Malavas  29.  junija  1797  in  isti  dan  krscen 
v  tej  farni  cerkvi.  Po  dovrsenem  pravos- 
lovju  na  Dunaju  in  bogoslovju  v  Ljubl- 
jani  v  masnika  posvecen  21.  sept.  1823. 
Kapelan  v  Smartnem  pri  Kranju  in  v 
Metliki.  Od  leta  1831  misijonar  Otava 
in  Ocipve — Indijanov  v  Michiganu.  Sev. 
Amerike;  v  skofa  posvecen  1.  novb. 
1853;  v  Gospodu  zaspal  19.  Jan.  1868  v 
Marquette.  Postavili  castilci  njigovi  1. 
1897."  2» 

A  month  after  the  unveiling  a  popular 
celebration  was  held  at  the  castle  of  Ma- 


:"  Irenaeus  Frederic  Baraga,  born  in  the  cas- 
tle of  Malavas  June  29,  1797,  and  baptized  on  the 
same  day  in  this  parish  church;  after  completing 
a  law-course  in  Vienna  and  that  of  theology  in 
Laibach  he  was  ordained  priest  Sept.  21,  1823; 
was  assistant  in  St.  Martin  near  Krainburg  and 
in  Metlika;  from  1831  he  was  missionary  of  Ot- 
tawa and  Otchipwe  Indians  in  Michigan,  North 
America;  was  consecrated  Bishop  November  I, 
1853;  died  in  the  Lord,  January  19,  1868.  Erected 
by  his  admirers  A.  D.  1897. 


lavas  in  the  shade  of  the  Linden  trees 
planted  in  Baraga's  childhood  days. 

Our  sketch  would  seem  incomplete  if 
we  did  not  say  a  word  of  the  monogram 
of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus  which  Bishop 
Baraga  used  so  extensively.  In  his  diary 
we  found  it  marked  almost  on  every 
page.  Whenever  he  recorded  anything 
that  either  saddened  him  or  something 
that  he  felt  grateful  for  to  Divine  Provi- 
dence, he  drew  with  his  pen  that  hallowed 
monogram.  When  he  became  bishop  he 
adopted  it  into  his  coat  of  arms.  His  con- 
fidence in  the  promises  of  Jesus  Christ,  so 
beautifully  embodied  in  that  monogram, 
"if  you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  my 
name,  he  will  give  it  to  you,"  (John  16, 
23.)  never  faltered.  No  wonder  then 
that  God  revealed  His  complacency  upon 
this  simple  faith,  at  least  it  is  certainly 
significant  that  this  great  servant  of  God 
departed  this  life  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Holy  Name  of  Jesus.  "Blessed  is  the  man 
whose  trust  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

(Ps.  34.  5-) 

After  the  death  of  Bishop  Baraga, 
Father  Jacker  was  charged  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  diocese.  There  is  hardly 
any  question  but  that  the  same  names, 
given  by  Baraga  at  the  Plenary  Council, 
were  returned  annotated  to  Rome.  The 
Holy  Father  had  chosen  Rev.  Ignatius 
Mrak  for  the  second  bishop  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  and  Marquette. 


Chapter      VIII. 
THE      RIGHT     REV.     IGNATIUS     MRAK,    D.     D 

His  origin  and  his  early  days. — His  ordination  to  priesthood. — Becomes  private 

tutor  in  a  noble  family. — Resolves  to  go  to  America. — Becomes  assistant 

to  Father  Picrz  at  Arbre  Croche. — Is  made  first  Vicar  General  of 

the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette. — Becomes 

second  Bishop  of  the  diocese. —  Goes  to 

the  Vatican  (  ouncil. 


Ignatius  Mrak  was  born  of  legitimate 
parentage,  in  the  village  Hotovle,  of  the 
parish  of  Poelland,  in  the  province  of 
Carniolia,  Austria,  on  the  16th  day  of 
October  1818  and  was  baptized  on  the 
same  day,  in  the  parish  church  of  St. 
Martin,  by  the  assistant  priest  Francis 
Resch.  His  god-parents  were  Caspar 
Oblak  and  Gertrude  Jereb.  His  father's 
christian  name  was  Mathias  and  his 
mother's  Mary,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Demscher.  They  were  people  of  moder- 
ate circumstances,  owned  a  farm  of  a 
good  proportion,  but  the  tilling  of  the 
soil  on  account  of  its  poorness,  cost  its 
owners  considerable  labor  and  sacrifice. 
They  had  six  children,  from  among 
whom  Ignatius,  for  his  extraordinary 
talents,  was  soon  singled  out  for  a  higher 
education.  He  first  attended  the  small 
parochial  school  at  Poelland,  and  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  was  sent  to  the  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Krainburg,  where,  that  year, 


he  completed  the  elementary  course.  In 
the  fall  of  1825  he  entered  the  royal 
Gymnasium  of  Laibach  and  with  fair  suc- 
cess finished  the  first  grade  of  Latin,  al- 
though lie  experienced  no  little  difficulty 
in  seeing  through  the  varied  entangle- 
ment of  the  new  classic  language  he 
undertook  to  acquire.  The  second  year 
this  hazy  comprehension  proved  fatal,  in 
as  much  as  he  was  not  promoted  with 
his  class,  and  a  serious  question  arose 
at  home,  whether  he  should  be  al- 
lowed to  try  it  over  or  be  made  to  till  the 
soil  after  the  fashion  of  his  ancestors. 
Between  the  frequent  reproaches  for  his 
failure  the  parental  love,  like  the  sun  be- 
hind a  passing  cloud,  revealed  itself  with 
so  much  greater  effect  upon  the  young 
heart  of  Ignatius  who  more  keenly  felt 
the  disgrace  of  his  failure  than  even  the 
wounded  pride  of  the  parents.  Tears 
and  resolutions  commingled  abundantly! 
Seeing  her  progeny  so  repentant  of  a  mis- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


217 


deed — for  which  he  could  not  help — the 
good  mother,  as  fall  approached,  came 
more  and  more  to  the  resolution  that  she 
would  deprive  herself  of  many  things, 
to  see  her  boy  go  back  to  school,  if  for 
nothing  else,  than  to  reprove  by  a  success- 
ful year  the  malicious  inquisitiveness  of 
the  neighbors.  Ostensibly  the  father  was 
against  another  trial,  but  in  his  heart  the 
wound  of  paternal  ambitions  was  as 
smarting  as  that  of  his  wife,  and  so  he 


of  stormy  days  at  home,  held  his  own, 
and  with  the  proper  application  of  his  tal- 
ents easily  won  out.  From  year  to  year 
he  became  a  more  assiduous  student,  so 
as  to  reap  the  praise  of  his  would-be-per- 
secutors and  the  glory  and  admiration 
during  vacation  at  home.  Three  years 
he  spent  in  Rudolfswert  and  returned 
with  the  scholastic  year  1830  to  Laibach 
where  he  remained  to  the  completion  of 
philosophy,    four  years  later.      His  own 


MARQUETTE   IN    I«57. 


needed  little  coaxing,  before  he  gave  his 
assent,  but  with  the  referendum  that  Ig- 
natius must  change  schools.  This  agree- 
ment reached,  Ignatius  was  ushered  to 
Rudolfswert  and  matriculated  as  'repe- 
tent'  of  the  second  Latin.  As  such  he  was 
not  bedded  on  roses,  for  the  innate  pro- 
pensities of  professors  towards  persecu- 
tion frequently  assumed  bold  relief,  but 
our  Ignatius,  with  the  vivid  recollections 


ambition  and  that  of  his  pious  parents  led 
him,  in  September  1834,  into  the  diocesan 
seminary  in  Laibach,  from  where  he  was 
graduated  with  honors  in  summer  of 
1837.  August  13th  of  the  same  year,  the 
Prince  Bishop  of  Laibach,  Anton  Aloys 
Wolf,  raised  him  to  the  priesthood,  and 
issued  to  him  the  following  cclcbrct  for 
his  first  Mass :  "We  give  permission  to 
the  neo-presbyter    of    Our    diocese,   the 


218 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak,  to  celebrate  his  first 
holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  in  the  parish 
church  of  St.  Martin  in  Poelland,  but  on 
condition  only,  that  all  secular  pomp  and 
worldliness  be  avoided,  and  that  he 
brings  from  the  rector  of  said  church  a 
certificate  to  that  effect."  * 

Notwithstanding  these  restrictions,  the 
jubilation  of  the  entire  parish  ran  high, 
and  everybody  seemed  to  have  foreknown 
that  the  'little  failure'  of  young  Ignatius 
was  only  a  mischievious  crotchet  in  life 
presaging  his  greatness  in  future ! 

Father  Mrak  paid  little  attention  to  the 
augury  of  his  co-parishioners,  his  mind 
was  turned  to  his  future.  Fieldmarshall 
Baron  Peter  Pirquet  had  applied  to  the 
Prince-Bishop  for  a  tutor  for  his  son.  • 
Father  Mrak  sought  the  appointment  to 
which  his  bishop  reluctantly  consented. 
The  post  was  not  so  easily  filled  because 
the  government,  with  unrelaxing  sever- 
ity, demanded  of  the  applicant  a  rigid 
examination,  equivalent  to  that  of  a  pro- 
fessorship. Father  Mrak  took  the  exami- 
nation and  received  the  appointment. 
The  bishop  gave  him  this  letter  of  recom- 
mendation : 

"We  make  known  to  all  that  bearer. 
Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak,  secular  priest  of  Our 
diocese  and  tutor  to  the  son  of  his  Excel- 
lency Peter  Pirquet,  Baron  of  Cesena,  Im- 


1  Reverendo  Domino  Ignatio  Mrak,  neo- 
ordinato  Presbytero  Dioceseos  Nostrae,  primum 
suum  sacro-sanctum  Missae  sacrificium  in  Eccle- 
sia  parochiali  S.  Martini  in  Poelland  offerendi 
hisce,  ea  tamen  lege,  licentiam  damus,  ut  omnem 
pompam  saecularem  ac  strepitum  profanum  de- 
vitet  et  a  R.  D.  Rectore  praefatae  Ecclesiae  testi- 
monium afferat,  Primitias  decenter  celebratas 
fuisse. 

Ex  officio  episcopali  Labaci  die  14.  Augusti 
1837.  ANTONIUS    ALOYSIUS, 

L.  S.  Episcopus. 

(In  diocesan  Archives,  Marquette.) 


perial  Fieldmarshall  desiring  to  go  with 
him  into  the  Austrian  domain  in  Italy, 
has  humbly  petitioned  Us  to  allow  him 
the  departure  and  to  furnish  him  this  let- 
ter of  commendation ;  favoring  his  re- 
quest. We  grant  him  permission  to  remain 
outside  of  Our  diocese  during  the  term  of 
one  year,  at  the  same  time  attest  that  in- 
asmuch as  the  exercise  of  sacred  rites  of 
Priesthood  are  concerned,  he  is  in  no  way 
restricted,  that  he  is  of  good  morals  and 
for  the  care  of  souls  approved  in  Our  dio- 
cese; We,  therefore,  as  much  as  it  be- 
hooveth  Us  in  the  Lord,  commend  him, 
by  these  presents,  to  all  to  whom  he  shall 
come."  - 

Father  Mrak  sojourned  in  Legnago, 
near  Verona,  six  months  and  remained 
altogether  two  years  in  the  service  of  that 
noble  family.  Returning  to  the  diocese 
he  was  made,  January  2j,  1840,  third  as- 
sistant to  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  John 
Traun,  who  had  been  pastor  in  Poelland, 
A  Irak's  native  parish,  when  Mrak  was 
born.     From    this    assistantship    he    was 


"  Notum  facimus,  praesentium  exhibitorem  R. 
1)  Ignatium  Mrak,  Dioceseos  Nostrae  Presby- 
terum  saecularem  et  informatorem  filii  Dni.  Petri 
Pirquet  Lib.  Bar.  a  Cesenatico  caes.  reg.  Prom- 
areschalli  campi  generalis  cum  eodem  in  Italiam 
Austriacam  ire  cupientem,  humiliter  nobis  sup- 
plicasse  et  facultatem  huic  discedendi  et  litteras 
commendatitias  sibi  largiremur;  cujus  petitioni 
annuentes  mox  dictam  facultatem,  extra  Nostram 
Diocesim  commorandi,  ad  annum  duraturam, 
eidem  hisce  concedimus,  simulque  attestamur, 
eundem  nullo,  quoad  constat,  impedimenta  a 
sacrorum,  imprimis  vero  Presbyteratus  Ordinis 
exercitio  prohibitum,  sed  bonis  moribus  praedi- 
tum,  et  pro  cura  animarum  in  Diocesi  Nostra  ex- 
ercenda  approbatum  esse ;  quo  circa  eundem  om- 
nium, quibus  praesentes  exhiberi  contigerit,  fa- 
voribus,  quantum  in  Domino  possumus,  com- 
mendamus. 

Ex    Residentia    Nostra    Episcopali,    Labaci    die 
30.     Septembris  1838. 

ANTONIUS    ALOYSIUS, 
L.    S.  Episcopus. 

ANTONIUS  KOS, 
Notarius. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


219 


transferred  in  the  same  capacity,  to  Sla- 
vina  where  he  remained  until  summer  of 
1845,  when  in  July  he  sailed  from 
Trieste,  on  the  sailship  Hindoo  for  Amer- 
ica, the  entire  voyage  occupying  eighty 
rive  days.  Father  Mrak  reached  New 
York  on  the  first  of  October  and  set  out 
immediately  for  Detroit.  Bishop  Lefev- 
ere  received  the  young  priest  most  cordi- 


RT.    REV.    IGNATIUS    MRAK    AT    THE    TIME    OF    HIS 
CONSECRATION. 


all)-  and  after  a  week's  rest  assigned  him 
assistant  to  Father  Pierz  at  Arbre 
Croche.  "As  we  have  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  send  an  assitant  to  the  Rev. 
Father  F.  Pierz,  missionary  in  Arbre 
Croche,  aware  of  your  piety,  learning, 
and  other  accomplishments,  we  appoint 
you  his  assistant  and  vicar  to  remain  im- 


mediately subject  to  him  until  these  facul- 
ties are  recalled."  3 

Father  Mrak  rejoiced  at  his  appoint- 
ment because  it  gave  him  an  opportunity 
to  remain  in  company  of  another  priest 
from  whom  he  could  learn  the  Indian 
language,  as  he  had  decided  to  devote  his 
life  to  the  conversion  of  Indians,  as  did 
his  countryman  Baraga,  whose  example 
and  writings  were  chiefly  instrumental  in 
inducing  him  to  renounce  home,  comfort 
and  prospects  of  the  future,  and  to  em- 
brace the  self  sacrificing  life  of  an  Indi- 
an missionary.  On  a  propeller  Father 
Mrak  arrived  on  Mackinac,  and,  for  lack 
of  traveling  accommodation,  was  forced 
to  remain  the  guest  of  Father  Renter- 
ghem.  till  some  Indians,  who  were  sent 
for,  arrived  in  St.  Ignace  and  took  their 
future  curate  with  them.  His  desire  to 
learn  Indian  was  so  great  that  he  com- 
menced to  interrogate  the  Indians  by 
means  of  signs,  disjointed  English  and 
French  words,  about  this  and  that ;  when 
he  met  Father  Pierz  he  greeted  him : 
"Anim  eji  bimadisien !" 4  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  venerable  missionary. 
And  we  are  told  by  the  same  Father  Pierz 
that  his  new  curate  after  scarcely  ten  days 
attempted  to  preach  in  that  marvelously 
strange  language.  "Now  I  am  much  re- 
joiced in  my  fellow  laborer  and  country- 
man, Father  Ignatius  Mrak,  who  arrived 
here  last  week  as  my  assistant.  On  All 
Saints'  day  he  preached  Indian  from  my 
writings  very  intelligibly  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  all.  He  learns  the  lang- 
uage very  diligently."  5 


3  Letter  of  Bp.  Lefevere,  Detroit,  Oct.  7,  1845. 
The  facsimile  is  annexed. 

4  How  is  your  health? 

B  Letter    of    Fr.    Pierz,    dated    Arbre    Croche, 
Nov.  s,  1845,  to  the  Leopold  Society.   Annals  XX. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


gut  tic  Hittt  Slaffe. 


SS 


'on  ©eite  6er    f.   f.    £aupt(cfnile    in   Jftainbutg    ivirb  ^icmit    bejeugef,   bd§ 
(77/^&„^^^™&j/?~~'  ©d)ufer  bet  Written  Ulaffe  ,  fief)  in  Ben  ©itten 
7*lr<?      ^ —  whiten  >  un&  &i*  f&*  oen  ,^£^£^£ut3  wgejcfotiebenm 
'fefitgegenflanbe  fofgenbec  Sftaffefl  erlcrnet  I?at: 


S)ie  SReligion        .... 

SDie  biblifcbe  @efd)icbte 

SDaS  gcangelium 

SDen  jroei?ten  "J&eif  beg  Sefebud>e6 

2)aS  £efen  beS 

SDeutfcfygebtucften  • 

£ateinifcf)gebtucften . 

SDeutfcfcgcfcbticbenen 

SateinifcbgefciKiebenen 
SDflS  tfopf-  unb  3iffcts  3\ecbnen 

ih  ben  ^Stucfrcn 

in  bet  fKegel  *  SDetti 
SDatf  ©cfyonfcfiteiben 

SDeutfcfr  -  cuttent     . 
=      jfanjcQep   : 

Sateinifcfr 
SDie  3tcd>tfd)teibung 
SDaS  SDictanbo  =  unb  9?ecbtfd)teiben 
SDie  beutfdje  <Spracf)Iebre 
SDie  ticfitige  SluSfptacfie  . 
SDie  Slnlcitung  ju  fcfiriftlicben  SHuffafcen 


,     it-*** 


■  w^ 


SDaii  £efen  unb  SDictanbofcbteiben  tateinifcbet  Wwt.-*^U 

SDiefet  ©c^ulet  cetbicnt  babct  in  bit  ^^^^iV^^»*«-^(a(fe 


^toinbutg  ton  Xc&#*~/ <v^ 


^# 


2T, 


Diuctor. 


BISHOP    MRAK'S    SCHOOL    CERTIFICATE    FROM    THE   THIRD  GRAMMAR  GRADES. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


221 


For  two  years  the  two  missionaries 
worked  in  fraternal  harmony.  The  num- 
ber of  adult  Christians,  recruited  mostly 
from  among  heathen  Indians,  had  in- 
creased to  1842  souls.  But  as  they  were 
scattered  in  the  most  distant  locations, 
one  missionary  was  almost  continually 
traveling.  To  avoid  unnecessary  going 
back  and  forth  the  two  missionaries  de- 
cided to  divide  the  missions  into  two 
separate  jurisdictions.  Father  Mrak.  who 
had  by  this  time  attained  sufficient  fluency 
of  the  Chippewa  dialect,  was  able  to  take 
care  of  a  mission  by  himself.  The  propo- 
sition was  placed  before  Bishop  Lefevere. 
On  the  10th  of  July  1847  he  visited  the 
missions  in  person  and  gladly  granted  the 
request  Father  Pierz  retained  Arbre 
Croche,  Cheboygan,  Agakathiwing, 
Grand  Traverse  and  Mahgigong  with 
1242  souls,  and  Father  Mrak  moved  to 
La  Croix,  and  assumed  spiritual  care  of 
Middletown,  Castor  Islands  and  Manis- 
tee, altogether  600  souls.  In  the  spring 
of  185 1  Father  Pierz,  not  having  any 
more  Indians  to  convert  left  Michigan 
and  took  a  new  field  of  labor  in  Minne- 
sota. Father  Mrak  remained  in  his  much 
loved  La  Croix  till  his  elevation  to  the 
episcopate,  though  he  suffered  there  many 
ups  and  downs  in  his  career.    ~ 

In  1853,  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of 
Upper  Michigan  being  established,  Bish- 
op Lefevere  ceded  to  Bishop  Baraga 
some  counties  in  northern  Lower  Michi- 
gan, thus  Father  Mrak  came  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  new  diocese. 

Recognizing  Father  Mrak's  services, 
Bishop  Baraga  made  him  his  Vicar  Gen- 
eral, November  20,  1859.  "By  virtue  of 
this  decree  We  appoint,  the  beloved  in 
Christ,    the   Verv    Rev.    Ignatius    Mrak, 


Vicar  General  of  Our  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
diocese,  because  great  are  his  merits  in 
our  missions  in  which  he  labored,  with 
prudence  and  extraordinary  zeal,  fifteen 
years,  and  has  by  the  grace  of  Almighty 
God,  brought  many  Indians  from  the 
darkness  of  paganism  to  the  light  of  the 
holy  Gospel,  receiving  them  among  the 
number  of  children  of  the  Holy  Mother 
Church."  The  Latin  fac-simile  is  an- 
nexed. 

In  August  i860  Father  Mrak  sailed  to 
his  native  land  to  visit  his  relatives,  and 
if  possible  to  bring  new  missionaries  for 
the  diocese.  Bishop  Baraga  issued  him 
the  following  plenipontiary  letters :  "Be 
it  known  to  all,  that  We  have  given  per- 
mission to  Our  Vicar  General,  the  Very 
Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak,  to  undertake  the 
journey  across  the  Atlantic,  that  he  may 
above  all  other  things,  seek  missionaries, 
of-  whom  there  is  a  great  scarcity,  for 
Our  Sault  Ste.  Marie  diocese  in  his  own 
native  land  or  elsewhere,  and  We  give  him 
the  power  to  adopt  priests  for  this  dio- 
cese. Given  in  the  Mission  of  B  Virgin  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  at  ( Eagle- 
town)  Grand  Traverse,  Michigan.  July 
20,  i860."  6 

Father  Mrak  returned  to  his  Indian 
mission  in  October  of  the  same  year, 
but  we  are  not  able  to  say  whether 
or  not  he  had  been  successful  in  his  mis- 
sion. We  know,  however,  that  Father 
Mrak  became  dissatisfied  with  his  lot  at 
La  Croix.  Early  in  1863  he  wrote  to 
Bishop  Baraga  that  he  intended  to  leave 
the  missions  with  the  opening  of  navi- 
gation, and  return  to  his  native  country. 
Bishop  Baraga,  loath  to  lose  so  conscien- 
tious and  excellent  a    missionary,    wrote 

6  Latin  original  is  reproduced. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


him  to  desist  from  his  intentions  for  the 
sake  of  the  immortal  souls  whom  he  could 
save  by  remaining  in  the  missionary  field. 
Not  trusting  to  his  own  persuasive  pow- 
er, Bishop  Baraga  did  not  hesitate  to  re- 


quest you  to  write  to  Father  Mrak  of 
Grand  Traverse,  and  to  persuade  him  not 
to  leave  our  missions.  He  wrote  to  me 
the  other  day  that  next  spring  he  intends 
to  quit  this  country  and  to  go  to  Europe. 


c^JLtilK  fy****"^ 


'^ 


^W    &  a.J-Z' 


mqite  in  lenlamine  pullico^j/£*u*2i~    semestrls  anni   183/^ 

e  doctrina  Rcligionis I    \-vr?-mi£-^~^- 

e  sludio  linguae  latins  ....•!  r\vri^r^if-  t^n^ntrtA**. 
z       s        geographiae  et  liistoria;    .     A    lpT-imJ-  em^t-ru^^ 

-.       =       arithmeticae I  i«l  »?•»««!.  «»>n»^w 

a  morum  cultura 1    \-»r->*r>*-  4»vi.!i*»v^r 


adscriptits  est . 


~~~> 


Daam-^yf^  JJ&4>£y"4>yZL    Gymnash  &,<&*">* 


mensis  ~^W~*^-     <"">'    '  8  rf~ 


I'id, 


PROFESSOR    PUBLICUS, 


PuMPBCTVi    GtHNJSII  , 


BISHOP   MRAK'S    SCHOOL   CERTIFICATE    SECOND   GYMNASIUM    CLASS. 

veal  to  Bishop  Lefevere  the  designs  of  I  wrote  him  immediately  and  entreated 

Mrak.    On  January  17,  1863,  he  wrote  to  him  not  to  do  that.     I  also  proposed  to 

the  same  bishop  as  follows:  "My  Lord!  him  a  change  of 'place,  to  take  one  of  the 

I  write  you  these  few  lines  in  order  to  re-  two  L'Arbre-Croche  missions,  if  he  pre- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


223 


ferred   them   to   the   missions   of   Grand  recommend   him  earnestly  to   remain  in 

Traverse;  and  I  would  then  place  one  of  our  missions.     I  also  beg  your  Lordship 

the  L'Arbre-Croche  missionaries  in  Grand  to  ask  him  the  true  reason  of  so  strange 

Traverse.  an  intention  of  going  back  to  his  own 


*J?fr*.    /6 


s~> 


^^P 


^tcOA^A  Grammatics  classO^a^J^Ja^/.operam  dedil 


alqne  in  tentamine  publico  ui&rK<..<*xCsemestris  anni   182^"-' 


c  doctnna   Religionis 

e  studio  lingua;  latina;    .     .     . 

=        -        lingua?  gra:ca?   . 

-  -       geographiae  et  InstonR 

-  =        arithmetics;      .      .     . . 
a  morum   cultura     . 


; 


^rt^nuiC 


jr.  e/cmA 


j  primes.      »  »    ytr-vm.*.  A*  ■**>/&.. 

rim*-     *      "     p9-rt> 


r 


rW  ^7)6*   f"™1* 


a^i-  &<• 


aj  cmjk 


adscriptus  est. 


Datum   !^_    ,£4 


mensis    Q/fyoSfm^/-.  anni   i$04"l 


-^*? 


tyt/itwft^Gijmnasio  die  £"' 


Vidi 


Pn.EFECTUS    GYMXAStt 


^ 


PfOFEsToR    PLDLICUS. 


BISHOP    MRAK'S    SCHOOL    CERTIFICATE    FOURTH    GYMNASIUM    CLASS. 

"I  told  him  that  he  could  not  leave  now  country.     And  when  you  receive  an  an- 

our  missions  with  good  conscience,  as  he  swer  from  him,  I  pray  you  to  communi- 

knows  well  all  the  languages  that  are  nee-  cate  it  to  me."  7 

essary  there.     I  request  your  Lordship  to  7  Original  at  Notre  Dame  University,  Indiana. 


224 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


The  correspondence  between  the  three 
gentlemen  would  certainly  prove  interest- 
ing*, but  it  would  be  more  interesting  to 
know  'the  true  reason'  why  Father  Mrak 
decided  to  leave  the  missions.  We  have 
been  unable  to  fathom  the  mystery.  But 
evidently  the  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  him,  was  sufficient  to  offset  his  no- 
tions. We  are  equally  certain,  for  the 
reason  that  Mrak  remained  in  his  mis- 
sion, and  afterwards,  as  retired  bishop, 
returned  to  it,  that  it  was  not  the  discon- 
tentment with  his  mission  that  inclined 
him  to  the  strange  resolution.  The  reason 
must  have  been  from  an  external  cause. 

Father  Mrak  stayed — and  stayed  in 
that  humble  position  until  after  the  death 
of  Baraga.  He  was  not  even  made  ad- 
ministrator of  the  diocese  upon  the  death 
of  the  bishop.  All  this  had  no  effect  upon 
him.  He  was  not  ambitious  for  eccle- 
siastical honors.  He  remained  absolutely 
indifferent  even  when  the  official  an- 
nouncement was  made,  and  the  Apostolic 
Briefs  had  arrived  that  he  was  to  succeed 
Bishop  Baraga  in  the  episcopal  See  of 
Sault  Ste.  and  Marquette.  We  reproduce 
fac-similes  of  letters,  from  the  diocesan 
archives — wondering  at  the  same  time 
that  they  were  not  lost — throwing  a 
splendid  light  upon  the  character  of  Bish- 
op Mrak. 

Here  is  the  first  one,  although  chrono- 
logically it  should  be  the  second: 

"Cincinnati,  13,  Dec.  1868. 

Right  Revd.  Dear  Friend. 

Mgr.  Mrak  has  not  answered  either  of 
two  letters  I  sent  him  announcing  the  re- 
ception of  the  Apostolic  Letters  for  his 
consecration  as  bishop  of  Marquette. 

Will  you  not  as  his  best  neighbor  and 
friend  encourage  him  to  accept,  were  it 


only  to  consecrate  his  few  remaining 
years  of  noble  life  of  sacrifices  by  sub- 
mitting to  the  Episcopal  yoke.  The  Holy 
Father,  as  you  well  know,  is  so  distressed 
when  Bulls  are  sent  back  to  Him. 

Wishing  you  and  yours.  Rt.  Revd  and 
Beloved  Brother,  a  most  happy  Xmas  and 
Xew  Year,  I  remain  ever  yours, 

J.  B.  Purcell, 

Archbishop. 
Right  Revd  P.  P.  Lefevere,  D.  D. 

Bishop,  Detroit." 

To  Father  Mrak  the  Archbishop  wrote 
as  follows : 

"Cincinnati,  23d.  Dec.  '68. 
Rt.  Rev.  Dear  Friend  : 

This  is  the  third  letter  I  address  to  you, 
besides  requesting  Rt.  Revd.  Bishops 
Henni  and  Lefevere  and  Very  Revd  Ed. 
[acker  to  inform  you  that  I  have  received 
the  Apostolic  Letters  for  your  consecra- 
tion as  Bishop  of  Marquette. 

All  are  anxious  that  you  should  ac- 
cept— and  the  Holy  Father  will  be  dis- 
tressed and  displeased  if  you  refuse.  I 
stated  in  my  first  letter  that  if  you  come 
to  Cincinnati  our  good  Catholics  will  treat 
you  to  an  outfit,  and  we  shall  be  delighted 
if  you  remain  with  us,  and  we  shall  give 
y<  >u  enough  to  do  until  spring. 

So,  Rt.  Revd.  and  Beloved  friend  ac- 
cept and  give  the  remaining  years  of  your 
life  to  that  good  God  to  whom  its  preced- 
ing portion  has  been  so  faithfully  conse- 
crated. 

Hoping  /  am  to  hear  from  you,  and 
in  the  meantime  wishing  you  a  most  hap- 
pv  Christmas  and  New  Year,  I  remain 
your  faithful  brother  in  Christ. 

J.  B   Purcell. 
Archbishop. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


225 


Right  Revd.  Dr.  Mrak,  pression  is  hard  to  say.     Father   Mrak 

Bishop-Elect,  Marquette"  took  his  own  good  time  about  it.   Finally, 

Whether  this  letter  of  the  Archbishop     after  the  Christmas  festivities  were  end- 


A?4 


u^ 


w^^,*^,  &**,  -0pfo«t 


e**- 


Av. 


<fentnqS- -'  JJmaanitatts  classi  /i/i*,'"^***-  A^f-dedil  operant 
aliiue  in  lentamine  publico  euefei*u4     semeslris  anni  1 83/ 


doctrina   Relicionis 


ex  duclorum  interpretalione  ct  stjlo 
e  studio  linguae  grasca:  .... 
;     ;  geogra[>hi2  et  historian  . 

;     ;  matlusis 

a  morum  cultura     ..... 


./»>»  w>  itm,'  ate   a*  fntr* . 
for  1  in  a fits 


D 


relatus  est 


Datum      ^ai'nci     *n     Q   tf-j .  ccccLS.     Gymnasio  die 

anni    1 83/. 


f. 


mensis 


Vidi 


Jy 


Pr&fectus  gymnas 


J/*™.  Professor  PVBLicvsmS></yUj 


BISHOP    MRAK'S    CERTIFICATE    IN    HIGHER    CLASSICS. 

had  the  desired  effect,  or  the  combined  ed,  he  went,  beginning  of  February,  to 
forces  of  Bishops  Lefevere  and  Henni  Cincinnati.  Even  then,  so  the  story  runs, 
and  Father  Jacker  made  any  telling  im-     the   Archbishop  used   all   his   persuasive 


226 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


power  to  hitch  him  up  into  the  "episcopal 
yoke." 

Father  Mrak  had  come  to  Cincinnati 
empty  handed,  without  money  or  the  nec- 
essary episcopal  outfit.  The  Archbishop 
then,  made  his  promise  good.  One  of  his 
old  purple  cassocks  was  cleaned  and  al- 
tered, by  the  Sisters,  to  fit  the  bishop- 
elect.  Bishop  Lefevere  gave  him  an  old 
pectoral  cross  and  ring,  both  of  silver,  and 
at  this  writing  in  possession  of  Rev.  Fa- 
ther Menard  of  Escanaba.  The  rest  chari- 
table hands,  from  among  the  flock,  sup- 
plied. 

The  Brief  of  appointment  reads  in 
translation  thus : 

Pius  IX.    Pope. 
Beloved    Son.    Health    and    Apostolic 
Benediction.    The  office  of  the  Apostolate, 
conferred  upon  Us,  not  through  Our  own 
merits,    by   divine    Providence,    from    on 
High,    by    which    We    preside    over    the 
government  of  all  churches,  striving,  with 
the  help  of  the  Lord,  usefully  to  exercise, 
We  are  solicitous  in  Our  own  heart  and 
watchful,  that  when  there  is  a  question 
of  committting  the  government  of  same. 
We  endeavor  to  give  them  such  pastors, 
as  know  how  to  teach  people  entrusted  to 
their  care,  not  only  by  word  of  doctrine, 
but  also  by  example  of  good  work,  and 
are    desirous    and    capable,    under    God, 
healthfully  to  guide  and  happily  to  govern, 
the    churches     commissioned     to    them, 
in  peace  and  tranquillity.     Since  We  have 
reserved  the  provision   for  all   churches, 
that  are  now  and  shall  in  future  become 
vacant,  to  Our  own  disposition  and  de- 
clared   thenceforth    null    and    void    all 
efforts   to   the   contrary,   no    matter    by 
what    authority,    whether   knowingly   or 
unknowingly  made.  The  episcopal  church, 


then,  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette, 
being  deprived  of  a  pastor,  that  it  may  no 
longer  suffer  from  the  inconveniences  of 
a   vacancy  being  desirous  with  paternal 
and  solicitous  interest  to  make  quick  and 
happy  provision,  in  which  no  one  could 
or   can   intermix   by   decree   or   reserva- 
tion,  contrary   to   this,   after   a   deligent 
deliberation,  which  We  have  had  about 
placing  at  the  head  of  the  same  church 
a  useful  and   fruitful  person,   with  Our 
Venerable  Brothers  the  Cardinals  of  the 
Holy   Roman  Church,   in  charge  of  the 
Propaganda  Fide,  We  turned  Our  atten- 
tion to  you,  who,  born  of  lawful  wedlock 
and  of  lawful  age,  are  highly  commended, 
besides  the  piety  in  which  you  excel,  for 
providence,  zeal  for  promotion  of  religion 
and  other  virtues.     Duly  considering  all 
this,  we  absolve  you  and  hold  you  ab- 
solved, in  so  far  as  this  matter  is  con- 
cerned,   from   whatsoever   excommunica- 
tion,  suspension,  interdict  and  all  other 
ecclesiastical     sentences,     censures     and 
punishments,  no  matter  what  way  or  for 
what  reason  pronounced,  if  you  have  per- 
haps incurred  any,  in  virtue  of  Our  Apos- 
tolic authority,  with  the  advice  of  the  same 
venerable  Brothers,  by  these  presents,  We 
make  provision  for  said  church  of  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette  in  your  person, 
which  is  acceptable  to  Us  and  the  fore- 
mentioned  Cardinals  on  account  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  your  merits.  We  appoint  you 
bishop  and  pastor,    fully   committing   to 
you  the  care,  rule  and  administration  of 
that  church,  in  spirituals  and  temporals, 
trusting  in   Him   who  bestoweth   graces 
and  gifts    that   said    church,    the    Lord 
guiding  your  actions,  will-  prosper  as  well 
in  spirituals  as  in    temporals,    by    your 
watchful  diligence  and  studiousness,  that 


mi/jy. 


6emeftral*3euanig. 


£>err   CWU 


Jt^.  -    ~   —    anfl 

^,^^i/^i**t^*^-<^'i&.^  gebiirtig,  feat  ben  23or[efungen 
liber  bie  gebrgeaenftdnbe  beg  etften  5<u)rganaeg  ber  ppifofcpbifdjen 
©tubien  im  ©tubienjabK  18W.  am  f.  f.  gpceum  ju  gaibacp  bepge= 
roopnt,  unb  bep  ben  6ffentli$en  '"Ptiifungen  be3^~^L@emefierg 
folgenbe  $laf[en  erpalten: 


icftrge  genflanB. 

OfrSiotlefungm. 

got  tgang. 

1 

9!tligionSroi|ycnfd)aft  ;    =    =    = 

/ 

rrf^j^y^yfi 

*}>(?llofopt»(*  :     :     ;     ;     z     s     : 

rf-/^ 

J 

JKeine  g[tratnl(it=9)?fll^niatif  = 

rf»/*¥j 

?t  Wr<£     •*>**%» 

SateinifcfK  ^(jilclogie      -    ;    .- 

/^£j£~)'Cly 

-^ — - 

©cin  fitting  SJetragen  roar  ben  afabemtfcfcen  S)i^ciplinar=33or= 
fcfcriften  />  u-cc-^^^-^^  gemdft. 


3u  Urfunbe  bejfen  paben  rotr  gegenmdttigeS  3euflnt^  mit  unferet  Un-- 
terfcprift  unb  mit  bem  ©iege!  beS  LI  Directorate  ber  ppilofoppifcpen 
©tubien  befrdftiger. 

gaibacp  mZ^^^/^--     i83^. 


-/  $Jtof«ffe«n: 


**2r^£+ 


BISHOP   MRAK'S  CERTIFICATE  IN  THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  COURSE 


228 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


it  will  be  directed  unto  prosperity  and  that 
the  orthodox  religion  will  increase.  Ac- 
cepting with  prompt  devotion  the  burden 
placed  upon  your  shoulders,  you  will 
faithfully  undertake  the  said  care  and 
administration  and  with  prudence  ex- 
ercise them  that  the  aforesaid  church  may 
truly  rejoice  in  a  prudent  ruler,  and  that 


m/# 


and  communion  with  the  Apostolic  See, 
inviting  two  bishops  to  act  as  his  as- 
sistants, or  if  they  cannot  easily  be  had, 
in  their  stead,  two  secular  priests  in  ec- 
clesiastical dignity,  or  if  they  cannot  be 
had,  either,  then  secular  priests  only,  or 
of  any  order  or  regular  institution,  en- 
joying like  favors  and  communion  with 


<2tui>ien=3™pi 


fp#-f^~cis  ~y  s?„,^  fifbiuiig.,  bat  im.  @tubienja&te 


iSMttn  SDorkmngen  liber  J^  ^f^^/j:  (r, 

an  bent  f.  f.  Spceurn  ju 
'■^y"Z-y"<y  bei^etuotwtf,  unb  bet)  ttt  <u~~~>~*sd- 

^rufunjj 
im  gortjangt  bie  «^jy~£^(ajTe  ^'/iM^^G^tx^oMtn. 

3u  llrfunbe  beffen  baben  mtr  ^eaenroarriaeg  j^ujyjjjym;*  unferer  tinted 
Thrift  unb  mit  bem  ©tegel  bet  pbilofopbifcfcen  g*fctft»t  bcfrdftiget. 


Saibai)  am  &■  *'-Z& 

■i&»~irA—r~\-  f.  director 

tit  Bfi ile.f f pbiftt) en  ©tubion. 


i83^ 


BISHOP    MRAK's    CERTIFICATE   IN   BOTANY. 


besides  the  eternal  retribution,  you 
henceforth  fully  merit  Our  favor  and 
blessing  and  that  of  the  Apostolic  See. 
As  for  the  rest,  looking  with  favor  upon 
your  own  convenience,  We  accord  to  you 
the  faculty  to  receive  licitly  and  validly 
the  gift  of  consecration  from  any  Catholic 
Prelate,  whom  you  may  choose,  in  favor 


said  See ;  and  We  grant  the  same  Prelate 
the  faculty,  in  like  manner,  lawfully  to 
bestow  upon  you  the  aforesaid  gift  of 
consecration  with  Our  Apostolic  Author- 
ity, after  having  first  received  from  you 
the  profession  of  Faith  proposed  by  Our 
See  and  the  usual  oath  of  due  fidelity. 
We   will,   however,   and   decree   that   if 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


229 


without  having  first  received  from  you 
this  oath  and  the  profession  of  Faith  the 
said  Prelate  presumes  to  bestow  upon 
you  the  gift  of  consecration,  and  you  to 
receive  it,  the  aforesaid  Prelate  as  well  as 
you,  by  the  very  fact,  be  suspended  from 
the  Pontifical  office  and  from  the  govern- 
ment as  well  as  from  the  administration 
of  your  churches.  Nothwithstanding  the 
Apostolic  constitutions  and  ordinances  as 
well  as  those  of  the  aforesaid  church,  be 
they  substantiated  by  oath  or  Apostolic 
confirmation  or  any  other  firmity,  statute, 
usage  or  anything  else  whatsoever  to  the 
contrary.  Given  in  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's, 
under  the  Fisherman's  ring,  the  25th  of 
September,  1868,  the  twenty  third  year  of 
Our  Pontificate. 

X.  Card.  Paraxiaxi-Clarelli. 

In  virtue  of  this  Apostolic  letter  Father 
Ignatius  Mrak  was  consecrated  bishop  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette,  in  Cin- 
cinnati on  the  seventh  day  of  February, 
1869,  in  the  very  same  Cathedral  and  by 
the  very  same  Archbishop  and  Bishops  as 
his  predecessor.  They  made  the  follow- 
ing attest  of  consecration,  written  in  the 
hand  of  the  archbishop. 

"On  the  7th  day  of  February,  1869,  be- 
ing Sunday  of  Ouinquagesima,  upon  the 
strength  and  by  virtue  of  these  Apostolic 
Letters,  we  have  conferred  the  gift  of 
episcopal  consecration  upon  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Ignatius  Mrak,  in  Our  Cathedral  church 
with  the  assistance  of  two  venerable 
bishops  who  have  signed   this  with  Us. 

»i«JoHN  Martin,    J.  B.  Purcell, 

Bishop  of  Milwaukee.        Archbishop. 
•I*  Peter    P.   Lefevere. 

Bishop    of    Zela,    Coadj,    Administrator 
of  Detroit." 


Other  officers  of  the  Mass  were 
Revs.  Caspar  Borges,  H.  Doane  of 
Newark,  X.  J.,  Otto  Jair,  O.  S.  F., 
Dr.  Joseph  Sakmann  of  St.  Francis 
Seminar}-.  Milwaukee,  John  C  Albrink. 
of  Reading,  "William  J.  Halley  and  G. 
Glass.  The  celebrated  Father  Wen- 
inger  preached  the  sermon.  Many 
other  prominent  clergymen  were  in 
the  sanctuary  but  no  priest .  of  the 
Marquette  diocese  was  present  for 
reasons  of  long  distance  and  in- 
commodity  of  travel.8  After  two 
weeks  Bishop  Mrak  went  by  way  of 
Chicago  and  Milwaukee  to  Green  Bay, 
Wis.  From  that  city  he  advised 
Father  Jacker,  on  27th  of  February, 
of  his  intended  arrival.  There  was 
no  connecting  railway  between  Esca- 
naba  and  Fort  Howard,  the  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  had  to 
be  traversed  by  stageing.  Monday, 
March  1st,  he  started  for  his  own  terri- 
t<  n'v  and  reached  Escanaba  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  third  day — the  3rd  of  March. 
He  was  met  by  Father  Bourion,  who  ac- 
companied his  new  Ordinary,  by  rail,  to 
Xegaunee.  From  here,  there  was  a  rail- 
way to  Marquette  but  its  time  table  was 
always  subject  to  the  conditions  of  the 
weather.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  day  and  the 
wheels  did  not  turn  that  day.  There- 
fore two  stages  had  come  out  to  meet  the 
new  bishop,  one  for  him  and  the  other 
bearing  a  committee,  Messrs.  T.  Moore, 
Louis  Preville  and  John  Thoney.  A 
brief  formality  of  introduction  took  place 
before  the  stages  turned  homeward.  The 
simplicity  of  the  Bishop,  in  manners  and 
above  all  in  his  dress,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  his  companions.  In  Mar- 
s  Wahrheitsfreund.    Cincinnati,    10   Febr.    1869. 


230  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

quette  they  were  used  to  the  simple  ways  The  stages  had  halted  at  the  most  con- 

and    habits    of    Bishop    Baraga    but    his  venient  place  of  entrance  to  the  house,  the 

successor  surpassed  him.     Between  three  kitchen  door.    Following  Father  Bourion, 

and    four    o'clock,    the    jingling    of    the  Bishop  Mrak  entered,  bundled  up  in  his 

sleigh  bells  and  the  ringing  of  the  Cathe-  rather  strange  attire,  a  fur  cap  drawn  over 

LECTURIS  SALUTEM! 


1  raesentibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur  ,55  6^w£&>, 

tfafrrtlU   fC(*/£»&  S>  j*LtA*J — ■        in  C.  R. 

sxSja-icnfi  Scientiarum  Lyceo  praelectiones  i*  MniMtl^Ju+lejfl*-  >n*x*JZ. 


J 


/3x&*~&  -59*- atque  m  exanune 

publico  finali  in  classem   SYlffLAtn- — «*, 


relatum  esse. 

Mores  quod  attinet ,  legibus  academicis?ry&* **>+/<■**'?**  m c ■*** 
exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  manu  nostra  subscriptas  et  Directo- 
ratus  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 


Ci.Aio.ci  &s$.y.     mensis <L*ti^i-t'y&&. 


Vidi 


C.  R.  Studii  theologici  Professor  pubLw^ 


Director.  <i^/<^-£««-  m#t*&f- 

BISHOr  mrak's  certificate  in  moral  theolocv. 

dral  bell  announced  to  the  people  of  Mar-  his  ears,  a  shabby  ulster,  a  colored  shawl 
quette  the  approach  of  their  chief-pastor,  around  his  neck  and  a  pair  of  lumber- 
All  who  could  find  room  in  the  sacred  man's  mits,  all  of  questionable  antiquity, 
edifice  crowded  in,  patiently  waiting  for  In  the  woman's  domain  they  shall  not 
the  first  appearance  of  the  new  Bishop,  pass    without    showing    their    passports! 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUIUIE 


231 


'Where  is  the  bishop?'  queried  the  lady 
who  had  taken  charge  of  the  culinary  de- 
partment for  the  occasion.  'There  he  is,' 
pointing  to  Bishop  Mrak,  replied  Father 
Bourion.  'You  cannot  fool  us'  was  the 
laconic  retort.  It  required  the  combined 
authority  of  Fathers  Bourion  and  Jacker 
before  the  good  ladies  sank  on  their  knees 
craving,  with  humble  apologies,  his  par- 
don and  blessing. 

For  the  church  ceremony  a  programme 
had  been  mapped  out  by  the  administrator 
and  his  advisers.  Father  Jacker,  as  the 
first  in  authority,  was  to  introduce  the 
new  Bishop  and  Father  Fox  to  deliver  an 
address  of  welcome  on  behalf  of  the 
clergy  and  the  people.  But  the  good 
Bishop  offset  their  plans.  'I  have  no 
Apostolic  letters  with  me,'  he  said,  'they 
are  all  in  my  baggage  which  I  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  behind  in  Green  Bay,  the 
stagemen  refusing  to  take  more  than  the 
passengers  on  account  of  the  heavy  roads. 
I  have  not  even  my  cassocks.  The  in- 
thronization  shall  take  place  next  Sunday 
by  which  time,  I  hope,  my  effects  will  have 
arrived!'  All  explanation,  that  on  ac- 
count of  the  poor  heating  facilities  the 
furnace  had  been  fired  continually  for 
three  days,  so  as  to  have  the  church  even 
moderately  warm,  and  that  now  the 
people  of  all  creeds  were  assembled  proved 
of  no  avail.  The  Bishop  donned  a  cleric's 
black  cassock  and  followed  the  society  in 
waiting,  accompanied  by  Fathers  Jacker, 
Fox  and  Bourion  to  the  Cathedral.  He 
gave  a  few  words  of  explanation  announc- 
ing his  solemn  inthronization  for  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  and  after  the  benediction 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  the  congrega- 
tion dispersed. 

Sunday  March  7th,  the  inthronization 


took  place,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Bishop,  but  not  a  dozen  people  were  pres- 
ent on  account  of  the  prevailing  cold.  He 
celebrated  a  Pontifical  Highmass  and  be- 
fore he  reached  the  consecration  the  wine 
in  the  chalice  had  frozen  to  solid  ice,  so 
that  Caspar  had  to  heat  cloths  to  thaw 
it. 

Bishop  Mrak  found  in  his  actual  diocese 
fourteen  priests,  the  Revs.  Jacker,  Fox, 
Menet,  S.J.,  Burns,  Duroc,  Walsh, 
Dwyer,  Sweeney,  Vertin.  Terhorst,  Orth, 
Thiele,  Bourion,  Magnee,  and  eighteen 
churches:  Marquette,  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
three  on  Sugar  Island,  Mackinac,  St.  Ig- 
nace,  Fagle  Harbor,  Cliff,  Houghton, 
Hancock,  Greenland,  Minnesota  Mine, 
Norwich,  Ontonagon,  Mission,  Negaunee 
and  Escanaba,  with  a  Catholic  population 
of  20,000.  The  Lower  Michigan  and  the 
Wisconsin  missions  over  which  Bishop 
Baraga  exercised  jurisdiction  had  fallen 
back,  upon  his  death,  to  their  proper  bish- 
op. On  September  6th,  1868,  Rt.  Rev. 
Michael  Heiss  was  consecrated  first  bish- 
op of  the  new  Diocese  of  La  Crosse,  as- 
suming charge  of  all  missions  within 
the  boundary  of  his  diocese;  and  on  the 
4th  of  March  1869,  one  month  after 
Bishop  Mrak's  consecration.  Bishop 
Lefevere  died.  Thus  the  agreement  made 
for  the  care  of  those  missions,  had  become 
wholly  extinct.  But  strangely  enough 
Beaver  Island  had  been  retained  by  Fath- 
er Jacker,  as  administrator,  and  after- 
wards by  Bishop  Mrak.  The  reason  for 
this  so  strange  action  may  be  sought  only 
in  the  fact,  that  the  Brief  establishing 
the  Vicariate  Apostolic,  afterwards  the 
•  Diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette, mentions  "LTpper  Peninsula  and 
the  adjacent  islands,"  as  the  territory  of 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

the  diocese.     Beaver  Island  was  the  only  it  may,  the  fact  remains  that  Beaver  Is- 

island    having    a    resident    priest.     Rev.  land  remained  over  two  years  after  Bara- 

Peter  Gallagher  who  was  ordained  for  ga's  death  under  his  successor's  jurisdic- 

the  Marquette  Diocese.    Even  this  theory  tion,  who  might  have  kept  it  longer  were 

LECTURIS  SALUTEM! 


ml  raesentibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur,'^).'  <0&<*tr  Jf~r<Jr 

iga^ot^TH,,     Scientiarum  Lyceo  prsc-lectione*  ^v  ^^'.  '  O^-*--.* 
&  //  *  atque  in  examine 

publico  finali  in  classem  ¥*■ t < nan<y 


relatum  esse. 

Mores  quod  attinet ,  legibus  academicis  ^"wtw<tu/  c*->LjUyt<t,t<j 
exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  manu   nostra   subscriptas  et  Directo- 
ratus  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 

^C^ncJ    die   i^  mensis  >W?.    /o-i-p  . 
/  ' 

Vidi 


C.  R.  Studii  theologici  Professor  pub).  **-*$. 

Director.  — 

EISHOP   MRAK's   CERTIFICATE  IN  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

does  not  seem  very  reasonable,  as  the  is-  it  not  for  an  unexpected  turn  of  things. 

land  is  too  far  distant  from  the  Upper  Soon  after  his  taking  charge  of  the  dio- 

Michigan  territory  to  have  been  meant  as  cese  Bishop  Mrak  became  cognizant  of 

one  of  "the  adjacent  islands."    Be  this  as  the  fact  that  three  priests,  having  charge 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


233 


of  souls,  had  been  ordained  by  his  prede- 
cessor without  the  regular  theological 
education.  To  convince  himself  of  their 
knowledge  they  were  cited  for  an  exami- 
nation which,  however,  proved  disastrous 
and  two  of  them  were  promptly  retired 
in  the  fall  of  1869.  In  the  spring  of  1871 
he  likewise,  announced  himself  on  Beaver 
Island  with  the  intention  of  measuring 
the  theological  knowledge  of  its  pastor. 
Being  forewarned  and  having  a  certain 
presentiment  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome, 
he  told  his  parishioners  of  the  approach- 
ing friendly  visit  of  the  Bishop  and  stated 
that  on  account  of  the  change  of  admin- 
istration in  both  dioceses  the  Bishop,  to 
whom  he  properly  belonged,  would  in  all 
likelihood  take  him  away.  Father  Gal- 
lagher was  a  splendid  Gaelic  orator  and 
his  parishioners  were  all  Irish.  Loath 
to  lose  him,  because  Sunday  after  Sunday 
he  spoke  to  them  in  their  native  tongue, 
and  for  that  matter  was  the  only  priest  in 
many  states  capable  of  speaking  fluently 
the  language  of  their  fathers,  they  hit 
upon  a  strategem.  There  was  only  one 
small  steamboat  making  her  regular,  but 
infrequent,  trips  to  the  Island  and  the 
Bishop  could  come  only  on  that  one. 
Careful  watch  was  kept;  and  as  the  boat 
steamed  to  her  dock  with  the  Bishop  on 
board  he  was  allowed  to  pass  his  way 
under  usual  acclamations  but  the  captain 
was  told  in  unmistakable  terms  that  un- 
less he  left  immediately  and  took  the 
Bishop  along  his  boat  would  be  burned. 
He  knew  there  was  not  much  blarney  in 
the  threat;  the  boat  was  the  embodiment 
of  his  earthlv  possession  and  his  course 
was  plain  to  him.  He  looked  up  the  Bish- 
op, informed  him  of  the  situation,  adding 
that  the  craft  mav  not  return  to  the  Is- 


land in  another  month.  The  Bishop  un- 
willing to  remain  in  the  hostile  camp  for 
an  indefinite  time,  departed  from  the  Is- 
land. The  successful  scheme  was  plain  to 
him  as  to  the  attained  purpose  and  upon 
reaching  home,  with  a  stroke  of  the  pen, 
he  passed  the  priest  and  the  parish  from 
his  jurisdiction. 

As  much  as  he  had  hesitated  to  accept 
the  episcopal  burden,  Bishop  Mrak,  had 
dutifully  announced  to  the  Holy  Father 
his  consecration.  In  response,  under  date 
of  March  10,  1869,  the  Supreme  Pontiff, 
above  his  own  signature,  most  lovingly 
encourages  the  bishop  in  his  duty  as  chief 
pastor  of  souls  in  his  diocese.  He  par- 
ticularly lays  stress  on  the  proper  edu- 
cation of  the  young  clergy,  on  the  instruc- 
tion of  children,  etc. 

The  first  ordained  by  Bishop  Mrak 
was  Rev.,  now  Monsignor.  Charles  Lang- 
ner,  July  23,  1869.  September  19,  1869. 
he  ordained  Rev.  John  N.  Stariha,  now 
bishop  of  Lead.  S.  D. 

September  5th  Bishop  Mrak  solemnly 
consecrated  the  cemetery  near  the  D.  S. 
S.  &  A.  R.  R.  tracks  with  the  assistance 
of  Fathers  Martin  Fox  and  Charles 
Langner. 

For  this  year  the  Oecumenical  Council 
had  been  called  to  convene  at  the  Vatican 
on  December  8th.  In  the  Brief  of  Indic- 
tion,  Aeterni  Patris,  Pope  Pius  IX.  says: 
"Hence  we  will  and  command  that  all  the 
Venerable  Brethren,  the  Patriarchs,  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops  everywhere,  so  also 
the  beloved  sons,  the  Abbots,  and  all  other 
persons,  whose  right  or  privilege  it  is  to 
take  part  in  General  Councils,  come  to 
this  Oecumenical  Council,  convoked  by 
Us."  9     In  obedience  to  this  call  of  the 


°  Acta  et  Decreta  Cone.  Vat.  I.  p.  48. 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

Supreme  Pontiff  Bishop  Mrak  also  made  clerics,   was   assigned   assistant   to   Rev. 

preparations    for    his    departure    to    the  Honoratus   Bourion  at   Negaunee,   while 

Eternal   City.      Having  attended  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Langner  was  made  to  suc- 

diocesan  affairs  as  best  he  knew  them  in  ceed  Pere  Duroc,  who  was  leaving  for 

LECTURIS  S ALUTEM ! 


<7 


xnesentibus  hisce  Uteris  testamur,  Q.  &**/~j/L 

&.i~*+<C.    ^cTi,^^,^.  ezX*~~**f.  c$f«.Snr-i~*. — ..      in  C.  R. 

^^fc/^J/j^Scientiarum  Lyceo  prfflectiones  *>>  *%<■<>*>.  C.-TZt^sL^ 
eA/^^T^^^-    *~$~?*' ,  at<Jue  in  "amine 

publico  finali  in  classem     *»>«*»^. , 

relatum  esse. 

Mores  quod  attinet ,  legibus  academicis  a&m^r^cJ  fm/Z,  *•,** 
exhibuit. 

In  quorum  fidem  has  ei  manu  nostra  subscriptas  et  Directo- 
ratus  sigillo  munitas  dedimus. 

c^aS-m .   die  ?■£.   mensis  *jr~S"-   &f&7. 


Vidi 


C  R.  Studii  theologici 


Director. 

BISHOP    MRAK'S    CERTIFICATE   IN    PASTORAL   THEOLOGY. 


the  short  time,  he  entrusted  the  adminis-  France,  as  second  pastor  of  Escanaba.  In 
tration  into  the  hands  of  Father  Edward  the  latter  part  of  September  the  Bishop 
Jacker.   Father  Stariha,  one  of  the  young     left  for  Rome     He  arrived  in  time  to  be 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


233 


present  at  the  prosynodal  meeting,  on  De- 
cember 2nd.  That  he  took  any  other  part 
in  the  deliberations  than  that  common  to 
the  six  hundred  bishops  present,  would  be 
hard  to  say.  It  is  certain  that  he  did  not 
remain  till  the  end  of  the  Council,10  and 
was  not  present  when  the  vote  on  Infalli- 
bility was  cast,  Tuesday,  May  18,  1870. 


of  the  decree  of  the  Infallibility,  July  18. 
1870.  was  the  declaration  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War,  in  the  trail  of  which  were 
many  evil  consequences  for  the  Church. 
Emperor  Napoleon  III.  was  captured  and 
dethroned,  the  French  army  was  de- 
stroyed and  whole  France  temporarily 
paralyzed.     Hereto-fore  restrained  by  the 


^/l 


V&t£i 


FACSIMILE    OF    PERMISSION     TO    EEV.     IGNATIUS     MRAK     TO    CELEBRATE     HIS    FIRST     MASS     IN     HIS 

PARISH    CHURCH. 


Coincident  to  the  day  of  promulgation 


10  Illustrissime  ac  Reverendissime  Domine. 
His  certiorem  Te  reddo,  S.  S.  D.  N.  Pium  P. 
IX  causa  cognita  et  probata  juxta  Litteras  Apos- 
tolicas.  Multiplies  inter,  die  27,  novembris  1869 
num.  IX.  ob  spirituales  Ecclesiae  Tuae  necessi- 
tates quas  exposuisti  in  libello  supplici  ea  de  re 
die  28.  Martii  li.  a.  exhibito,  veniam  discedendi  a 
Concilio  et  in  propriam  Diocesim  redeundi,  in 
Audientia  die  5.  hujus  mensis  a  me  infra  scripto 
Secretario  babita,   Tibi   benigne  concessisse. 

Ceterum  hac  occasione  usus  profiteor  eximiae 
observantiae  meae  sensus,  in  quibus  persisto 
Amplitudinis  Tuae  humillimus  ac  devotissimus 
servus  .J.JOSEPHUS, 

Eppus.  S.  Hippolyti, 
Secretar.    Concilii    Vatic. 
D.  Romae  e  Secretaria  SS.     Oecumenici  Concilii 
Vaticani  d.  6.  Aprilis  1870.     Illmo  ac  Rmo.  D.  D. 
Ignatio  Mrak. 

Epo.  Marianopolitano  et  Marquettensi.  (Ar- 
chives Marquette). 


power  of  France,  Victor  Emmanuel 
seized  this  opportunity  to  carry  his  long 
cherished  desires  into  execution.  After  a 
short  but  gallant  struggle,  the  small  papal 
army  was  defeated  on  the  20th  of  Sep- 
tember. 1870  and  Rome  taken  forcible 
possession  of  by  the  troops  of  the  King- 
dom of  Italy.  In  face  of  this  dire  calam- 
ity the  continuation  of  the  Council  was 
rendered  inadvisable  and  impossible,  the 
Holy  Father,  therefore,  by  the  bull  Post- 
quam  Dei  munere,  dated  October  20. 
1870,  prorogued  the  Council  until  a  more 
seasonable  time. 

Our  Bishop  Mrak,  after  a  visit  to  his 


236  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  Of 


srarafflis  saSSSBfiS  omblwimsbi 


»9 

Dri  rl  tlpostolicrr  Scdis  gratia, 

BjI?>8®©e>i?^S    S  B  &  A,  N;  1?  S  * 

'/l.*juJij  {Pijtj4<,rri4  t/aAtrtzz "'  - 

/(Oi*u.-m     j2Ju*,fti^n     tfLvJUsride  '//£-  J'  JrLjAtfVtjJt^a^    *S^J&j&= 

/««",,,'  *.;*V<*«~.«  c^^^ar-yz.  4i*£**jr  £*&*&<  -aS^u/^, 

y>    y{^A>u*t~n      Ji^etvfemuJ,  fife-  &f~t*i  /Ly  **a^n*_^  <z*nu^r>  <»i*w    c^/mj  *5%i/- 
9^  Jryrfl^ZZ.  ^eA/>*    J0^#-   /faff 


FACSIMILE    OF   LETTER   APPOINTING   REV.    IGNATIUS    MRAK    ASSISTANT   TO    FATHER    PIERZ    AT    ARBRE 

CROCHE. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


237 


native  country,  effected  passage  for  him- 
self and  a  student,  Luke  Mozina,  on  a 
packet  sailing  from  Trieste  to  Glasgow. 
The  boat  went  down  the  east  coast  of 
Italy  and  put  into  a  Sicilian  port  to  take 
on  a  cargo  of  sulphur.  Being  the  eve  of 
the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  the  Bishop 
was  anxious  to  celebrate  Mass  next 
morning  in  case  the  ship  remained  long 
enough  at  the  wharf.  Assured  of  this 
opportunity  he  went  ashore  to  make  ar- 
rangements. When  he  presented  himself 
to  the  pastor  he  was  accorded  a  most 
hearty  welcome.  No  bishop  had  visited 
this  town  for  several  years.  The  Ordi- 
nary, explained  the  priest,  was  an  old 
man  and  on  account  of  age  and  infirmity 
had  omitted  coming  to  this  out-of-the- 
way  place  and  since  his  demise,  over  a 
year  ago,  no  appointment  had  yet  been 
made.  The  news  of  the  American  Bish- 
op's presence  rapidly  spread  and  the  Sici- 
lians became  so  enthusiastic  over  the  un- 
expected honor  that  they  immediately 
proceeded  returning  the  compliment  by  a 
parade  through  the  town.  Cessation  from 
work  was  so  complete  that  there  were  not 
enough  hands  left  to  load  the  ship.  Sug- 
gestion was  made  that  the  Bishop  also 
give  Confirmation  which  had  not  been  ad- 
ministered for  several  years.  A  courier 
was  dispatched  and  the  Vicar  of  the 
Chapter  readily  granted  the  necessary 
permission.  Only  the  third  day,  after  the 
Confirmation,  the  religious  ardor  suffi- 
ciently abated  so  that  the  ship-master 
could  load  his  boat  Chagrined  at  the  de- 
lay the  Captain  upbraided  the  Bishop  for 
being  the  cause  of  so  much  loss  of  time. 
He  revenged  himself  by  causing  but  one 
spoon,  fork,  and  knife  to  be  placed  before 


the  Bishop  and  his  companion,  so  that  the 
student  and  the  Bishop  had  to  use  them 
in  common.  Despite  this  slight  discom- 
fort the  good,  old  Bishop  was  secretly 
glad  that  he  was  not  deprived  of  the 
transportation  as  other  opportunities  on 
account  of  the  Franco-German  blockade 
were  few,  and  his  means  scant.  On  his 
way  to  Rome  he  had  taken  steerage  but 
when  found  to  be  a  bishop  he  was  given  a 
second  class  cabin  without  additional 
cost.  After  a  necessarily  slow  voyage 
the  boat  safely  reached  Glasgow  whence 
the  Bishop  took  passage  for  America. 

Bishop  Mrak's  absence  from  the  dio- 
cese was  an  unusually  long  one  and  his 
absolute  silence,  for  he  had  not  written 
a  line  during  all  this  time,  almost  became 
ominous,  so  that  fears  were  actually  en- 
tertained for  his  safety.  Administrator 
Jacker  was  so  much  more  anxious  for  his 
return  as  he  had  the  sub-deacon  Eis  ready 
for  ordination  whose  active  services  were 
badly  needed  in  the  ministry.  But  as  long 
as  the  Bishop  did  not  return  to  his  See 
within  one  year,  Father  Jacker  calculated 
having  the  sub-deacon  ordained  by  the 
Bishop  of  Green  Bay.  Early  in  Septem- 
ber he  sent  Rev.  Eis  to  Green  Bay  with  a 
letter  setting  forth  the  circumstances. 
Accidentally  Bishop  Melcher  was  out  of 
town  and  the  candidate  was  asked  to  wait 
for  his  return.  The  hospitality  of  the 
pastors  in  the  city  made  the  wait  very 
pleasant  but  it  was  not  long.  Bishop 
Mrak  arrived  unexpectedly  in  Marquette 
and  the  young  candidate  was  at  once  re- 
called and  ordained  deacon  on  October 
28th  and  two  days  later  raised  into  the 
priesthood 


Chapter      IX. 

Returns  from  the  Vatican  Council.— Resumes  his  duties.— Attends  the  conferring  of 

Pallium  upon  the  first  Archbishop   of   Milwaukee.— Lays  down  the  rules 

and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  parishes 

in  the  diocese.— Is  stricken  with  sciatic  rheumatism.— Resigns 

his  office.— Returns  to  his  Indian  mission  at  Eaglctown. 

Returns   to   Marquette. — His  last  days. 

His    demise. 


Taking  again  actual  charge  of  his  dio- 
cese, Bishop  Mrak  appointed  his  former 
administrator  Vicar  General,  and  com- 
missioned him  to  the  new  parish  of  Calu- 
met. In  Marquette  he  retained  the  newly 
ordained  Father  Eis. 

Bishop  Mrak  showed  his  good  wisdom 
by  being  extremely  careful  whom  he  re- 
ceived into  his  diocese;  more  so  with  the 
students  than  with  priests  for  obvious 
reasons.  A  certain  young  man  had  ap- 
plied for  adoption  into  the  diocese  from 
Collegeville,  Minn.  On  an  occasional 
visit  to  the  College,  Father  Eis  was  told 
to  investigate  his  standing  and  as  he  was 
not  recommended  by  the  faculty,  the 
Bishop  refused  to  accept  him.  Neverthe- 
less the  young  man  came  to  Marquette  of 
his  own  accord  and  after  a  short  trial  by 
the  Bishop  was  informed  that  he  would 
do  better  seeking  employment  in  the 
mines  or  elsewhere.  He  departed  and 
went  among  the  miners,  but  not  to  look 
for   work.      In   a   smooth    story   he   told 


them  on  account  of  shortage  in  funds  he 
was  compelled  to  suspend  his  studies  for 
priesthood,  and  that  the  Bishop  had 
granted  him  permission  to  collect  enough 
money  required  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion. To  give  a  semblance  of  truth  to  his 
story  he  endeavored  to  associate  himself 
t<>  the  priests  as  much  as  possible  and  thus 
deceive  the  good  hearted  into  a  liberal 
(lunation.  When  his  operation  became 
known  to  the  Bishop,  he  caused  a  circular 
to  be  read  from  the  pulpits  in  the  diocese 
denouncing  him  as  a  fraud.  On  the  Sun- 
day when  the  circular  was  read  in  the 
Cathedral  by  Father  Eis,  he  happened  to 
be  present  at  Mass  and  he  promptly 
shouted  out  'Its  a  lie,'  and  hastily  made 
his  exit.  After  that  he  went  to  Calumet 
and  succeeded  in  deceiving  Father  Jack- 
er,  who,  believing  his  stories  admitted 
him  in  cassock  and  surplice  into  the  sanc- 
tuary. The  fact  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Bishop,  and  for  punishment  he 
took  the  Vicar-Generalship  from  Father 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


239 


Jacker.  The  young  man  seeing  himself  drifting  on  a  plank  till  picked  up  by  an- 
"exposed  on  all  sides,  took  the  ill-fated  ether  boat.  On  the  same  boat  was 
Coburn  for  New  York  and  perished  with     drowned  Rev.  Father  Kohler,  S.  J.     The 


FRIDERICUS  BARAGA, 
DEI   ET  APOSTOLIC/E  SEDIS  GRATIA 

(Spistopis  §larianoj)olitanu5, 


ri\r     MIOHIOAN. 


Lecturis  salutem  et   benedictionem  in  Domino. 


Ct«i       c+vkI  faZu-uv)         sti&jZ*/    /Zr&J       <"         OCuj77 


%/w    du^U^y    fade**/'    -£et         ^PZLi&btM^     yuan*./  f^tf^t*"'    £<* <tA  <t*n'~~~4  w*^x/    /*~*  * 

/*    iy*l~*       '%m~Juj ,     .¥    &    MDCCCLfX 

FACSIMILE    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA'S    LETTERS    APPOINTING    REV.     IGNATIUS    MRAK    VICAR-GENERAL    OF 

THE   DIOCESE   OF    SAULT    STE.    MARIE. 

her  October  15,  1S71  in  Lake  Huron.  Frenchman  tells  that  while  the  priest  had 
The  only  survival  of  the  catastrophe  was  every  passenger,  Catholic  or  Protestant 
a    Frenchman,    who    saved    himself    by     under  perfect  control  in  the  hour  of  their 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 

peril,  that  student  alone  was  racing  he  considered  his  usefulness  much  les- 
around  the  boat  a  perfect  maniac  and  met  sened  and  therefore  chose  the  St.  Paul 
his  doom  in  that  condition.  diocese  where  he  could  devote  his  talents 


FEIBIEI€US  BAEA^A, 

DEI   ET  APOSTOLIC/E   SEDIS  GRATIA 

(Sjrjscopus  |Harianopolitanu5, 


irj-    n/rxcQiet-a-ro-. 


Lecturis  salutem  et   benedictionem  in   Domino. 


FACSIMILE     OF     BISHOP     BARAGA'S     LETTERS     EMPOWERING     VICAR     GENERAL     IGNATIUS      MRAK     TO 

OBTAIN   PRIESTS   WHILE  ABROAD. 

In  September  1871  Rev.  John  N.  Stari-  to  a  fuller  extent.  His  zeal  and  ability 
ha  left  the  diocese  and  went  to  Minne-  soon  came  to  the  notice  of  his  Ordinary, 
sota.     Not  knowing  the  French  language     In   1890  Archbishop  Ireland    made    him 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


241 


his  Vicar  General  and  October  28,  1902 
he  was  consecrated  bishop  of  the  newly 
erected  diocese  of  Lead,  S.  D. 

A  document  drawn  np  February  22, 
1 87 1  '  tells  us  of  a  strange  compact  en- 
tered into  by  Bishop  Mrak  and  Rev. 
Honoratus  Bourion,  according  to  which 
the  latter  was  to  remain  pastor  of  the  two 
churches,  Xegaunee  and  Ishpeming,  for 
a  period  of  at  least  five  years ;  he  was 


five  years,  to  begin  from  the  date  of  this 
agreement."  This  contract,  however,  did 
not  remain  long  in  working  order,  for  in 
the  following  September  Father  Bourion 
withdrew  from  the  parish  and  from  the 
diocese,  leaving  the  former  in  a  badly 
mixed-up  state.  The  Negaunee  parish 
property  was  hypothecated  for  more  than 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  and  its  bank- 
ruptcy plainly  visible  within  the  horizon. 


/,..  tf&j/f/f 


rfyti-^P* 


^/J^c    *£T/i5v/^v 


tffcU  ^^l^v/  **-4~  <**  ^  £rf^ 

U^  fa  * '  --y-f-  <~t — — >~- 5  gt~ 

Iaajh  .j,  at/fa.  -6^ ^S*i*L/!i-~, 


FACSIMTLE    OF    ARCHBISHOP    PURCELL  S    LETTER    TO    BISHOP    LEFEVERE    REQUESTING    HIM 
TO  INFLUENCE  FATHER  MRAK   TO  ACCEPT  THE  EPISCOPAL  CONSECRATION. 


to  become  responsible  for  the  existing  in- 
debtedness of  both  churches,  in  consider- 
ation of  granting  "to  the  said  party  of 
the  second  part  {Bourion)  all  the  reve- 
nues of  the  said  churches  and  church 
property,  either  from  pew-rents,  or  free 
gifts  of  the  people  and  other  regular  in- 
come from  the  diverse  functions  of  the 
ministry,  and  all  that  for  the  space,  of 
1  Dioces.     Archive. 


To  save  the  parish  property  and  the  good 
name  of  the  Catholic  cause,  the  Bishop 
appointed  Rev.  John  Vertin  to  succeed 
Father  Bourion,  trusting  that  the  young 
priest,  whose  financial  economics  in 
Houghton  had  shown  him  in  the  best  of 
light,  would  be  able  to  cope  with  the  ex- 
traordinary debt.  In  this  the  young 
priest  effectuated  fully  the  expectations 
of  his  Bishop.     At  this  time,  Ishpeming 


242 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


> 


M  ^ 


5^ 
\ 


V 


1  ^  w  rJ  >  I,*  t?   *  I 


Si   S  $^ 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


242 


also  became  an  independent  parish  and 
Rev.  John  Burns  its  first  resident  pastor. 

For  the  two  vacancies  created  by  the 
above  appointments  there  was  only  the 
new  arrival,  Rev.  Anacletus  O.  Pellisson, 
available,  but  Eagle  Harbor  on  account 
of  its  isolation  received  preference  so 
Houghton  was  again  made  tributary  to 
Hancock  until  February  24,  1872.  when 
Revs.  Luke  Mozina  and  Oliver  Comtois 
were  ordained  and  appointments  made. 
On  the  20th  of  June  of  the  same  year 
Bishop  Mrak  conferred  holy  Orders  on 
Rev.  Paul  Nadeau,  S.  J. 

In  Marquette  there  was  a  good  con- 
tingent of  French-Canadians  from  the 
very  start  of  the  city,  and  their  number 
steadily  increased  so  that  in  1872.  they 
considered  themselves  strung  enough  to 
branch  off  from  the  Cathedral  parish  and 
build  a  church  of  their  own.  With  the 
approval  of  the  Bishop  they  purchased 
on  Washington  street  the  Methodist 
church  for  the  sum  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars,  remodeled  it  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  a  Catholic  church 
and  on  Sunday,  the  [8th  day  of  August, 
1872,  Bishop  Mrak  blessed  it  for  them, 
dedicating  it  to  the  honor  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist.  This  was  in  the  diocese  the  first 
church  of  a  national  character.  Rev. 
Moise  Mainville  of  the  Viateurs  was 
present  at  the  dedication  and  was  in- 
stalled, for  the  time  being,  as  its  first 
pastor.2 

2  Die  18.  Augusti  A.  D.  1872.  Dom.  XIII.  p. 
Pent,  in  festo  Sti.  Joachim  Ecclesia  Canadien- 
sium,  sita  in  Washington  Str.  quam  a  Methodistis 
pretio  2500  monetae  americanae  emerunt,  a  me 
infra  scripto  in  honorem  Sti.  Joannis  Baptistae, 
assistente  Rev.  Dmo.  Moise  Mainvide,  sac.  congr. 
Sti.  Viatoris  benedicta  fuit. 

►[-IGNATIUS  MRAK, 

Epus.  Marianopolitanns  et  Marqncttensis. 
Lib.   Bptz.  Eccl.  Cathedr. 


The  Bishop's  residence,  built  by  Father 
Duroc  in  1856  for  the  double  purpose  of 
church  and  house,  had  by  this  time,  if  not 
entirely,  outserved  its  usefulness,  become 
very  uncomfortable.  Besides  the  pastor 
and  the  servant  the  Bishop  kept  always, 
or  most  of  the  time,  a  student,  which 
made  the  house  well  crowded.  This  made 
him  think  of  a  new  house  and  he,  in  his 
mind,  was  designing  one  that  might  be 
turned  at  any  future  time  into  a  semi- 
nar v.  The  only  specifications  he  laid  out 
for  it  was  that  it  should  be  of  brick  and 
large  enough;  pretensions  as  to  the  style 
and  external  appearance  he  had  none.  In 
the  fall  of  1872,  expecting  to  be  absent 
for  a  long  time,  superintending  the  print- 
ing of  an  Indian  prayer-book,  before  his 
departure  he  laconically  said  to  Father 
Eis  :  "You  know  what  kind  of  a  house  we 
want.  Build  that  house  while  I  am  gone. 
Build  it  large  enough."  Father  Fis  know- 
ing the  Bishop's  ways,  understood  his 
task  but  did  not  consider  it  as  lightly  as 
the  Bishop  expressed  it.  Down  town  was 
an  architect  employed  by  some,  who  were 
putting  up  large,  up-to-date  buildings  on 
the  main  street.  After  a  consultation  the 
two  agreed  upon  the  size  and  style  and 
Mr.  Greene  was  asked  to  make  the  plans 
accordingly.  To  suffer  no  loss  of  time, 
Father  Eis  at  once  ordered  the  excava- 
tions for  the  foundations.  Just  then  the 
Bishop  returned  unexpectedly.  He  was 
well  satisfied  with  the  priest's  attempt 
but  the  plans,  being  drawn  to  a  scale, 
and  shaded  to  show  with  effect  a  modern 
residence,  would  not  do  at  all.  It  was  all 
too  stylish.  He  called  in  a  man  Gregory, 
who  by  occupation  was  an  undertaker 
and  carpenter  and  to  him  he  explained 
what  kind  of  a  house  was  wanted.     The 


244 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


V-N 


1 1 1 II  t  Hi  m  10  lii 111 II 4 1 II  si  III 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


245 


excavations  made  were  quickly  suited  to 
the  new  foundations  upon  which  arose 
the  present  episcopal  residence.  It  was 
ready  fur  occupancy  early  in  the  fall  of 
1873.  The  old  house  was  sold  to  Mr. 
John  McCabe  who  moved  it  across  the 
street  and  converted  it  into  a  more  mod- 
ern dwelling. 

Rev.  Joseph  A.  Hubly  was  ordained 
priest  December  22,  1872. 

The  next  five  years  were  days  of  trials 
and  tribulations  for  Bishop  Mrak.  The 
depression  in  the  copper  industry  which 
spread,  like  death-pall  over  his  diocese, 
causing  a  great  reduction  in  the  popula- 
tion, was  greatly  responsible  for  many  of 
his  sorrows.  With  tearful  eye  he  looked 
upon  the  closing  of  two  prosperous 
schools.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  not 
being  able  to  carve  out  their  existence  in 
the  Sault  gave  up  their  charge  in  1871. 
One  year  later  they  abandoned  the  Han- 
cock school  for  the  same  reason.  The 
same  year  the  Ursuline  Nuns  were  pre- 
paring to  leave  Marquette  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  the 
St.  Joseph's  Sisters  there  would  have 
been  left  but  one  Sister  school  in  the  dio- 
cese. At  the  pressing  invitation  of  Bish- 
op Mrak  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  pur- 
chased the  holdings  in  property  from  the 
Ursulines  in  Marquette  and  resumed 
teaching  where  the  Ursulines  had  left  off, 
reopening  a  Boarding  and  Day  school. 
The  missions,  on  the  contrary,  increased, 
but  their  increasing  number  caused  the 
Bishop  additional  worry  because  he  did 
not  have  enough  native  priests  to  supply 
them.  To  Menominee  he  sent  Rev.  Mar- 
tin Fox,  who.  with  indefatigable  zeal, 
completed  a  church,  for  those  days  cer- 
tainly   an    extraordinary    church-edifice. 


On  the  feast  of  the  Apostles  Sts.  Peter 
and  Paul,  June  29,  1873,  Bishop  Mrak, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  C. 
Langner  from  Escanaba  and  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Walsh  from  Fort  Howard,  dedicat- 
ed it  to  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Clarksburg 
received  a  pastor  in  the  person  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Frangois  Berube,  an  arrival  from 
France.  Torch  Lake,  the  present  Lake 
Linden,  was  given  in  charge  of  Rev. 
Francis  Jacob  Helliard,  a  priest  also 
adopted  from  France.  In  L'Anse — the 
L'Anse  proper — a  church  was  under  con- 
struction but  had  to  be  left  in  Father  Ter- 
horst's  care  for  want  of  priests.  So  like- 
wise the  new  church  in  Wyoming,  the 
Pennsylvania  Mine,  remained  a  mission 
to  Eagle  Harbor. 

In  1873  not  a  single  priest  was  or- 
dained for  the  diocese.  In  1874  Bishop 
Mrak  obtained  two  students  in  Rome, 
Fabian  Pawlar  and  John  Pitas,  but  noi- 
some irregularity  in  the  papers  sent  to 
Rome  by  Bishop  Mrak,  the  latter  refused 
to  wait  till  they  could  be  corrected  and 
was  ordained  for  the  diocese  of  Buffalo. 
Father  Pawlar  received  the  Holy  Orders, 
for  the  diocese  of  Marquette,  on  the  19th 
of  May,  1874.  At  home  Bishop  Mrak 
conferred  Holy  Orders,  on  May  29,  1874 
upon  Rev.  Philip  Finken  and  Rev.  H.  J. 
Rousseau  for  his  own  diocese,  and  for 
Green  Bay,  sede  vacante,  upon  Rev. 
Athanasius  Nicholas  Buschle. 

In  July  the  Bishop  thought  it  advisable 
to  transfer  Rev.  Father  Dwyer  from  Ste. 
Anne's  Hancock,  to  Rockland  and  to 
leave  his  assistant,  Father  Hubly,  in 
charge  of  the  parish.  This  move  was 
met  with  a  vigorous  protest  on  the  part 
of  the  Irish  population.  They  considered 
themselves    wronged.      National    feeling 


246 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ran  high  and  incentive  street-oratory  dis- 
quieted the  agitated  minds  the  more  till 
si  >me  of  the  men  proceeded  forcibly  to  re- 
strain the  lawfully  appointed  priest  from 
the  exercise  of  his  office.  It  was  cer- 
tainly a  new  feature  in  a  diocese  that  was 
scarcely  merging  from  a  state  of  travel- 
ing missionary — when  people  were  glad 
to  see  a  priest  of  any  nationality — into  a 
state  of  well  regulated  and  independent 
parishes.  Bishop  Mrak  met  this  spirit 
of  insubordination  promptly,  calling  upon 


appointed    Frederick    Eis    as    permanent 
pastor. 

The  Hancock  incident  saddened  the 
Bishop:  in  the  simplicity  of  his  heart  he 
never  thought  that  such  a  thing  could 
happen.  He  now  more  than  ever  regret- 
ted the  acceptance  of  the  episcopacy,  and 
envied  the  peacefulness  of  his  former 
missionary  life.  When  he  pursued  his 
priestly  duties  with  scrupulous  exactness, 
no  accidents  rippled  the  calm  of  his  soul 
and   mind :   he   was  .poor  but  contented, 


^%/L#>%fak>  ^ux^*//y*s<& 


vts 


<*&J&tZS*!S 


r<w«-** 


ADDRESS   ON   THE  BULL  OF   APPOINTMENT    AND   ATTEST   OF 
BISHOP    MRAK'S    CONSECRATION. 


the  deluded  members  of  the  congregation 
at  once  to  submit  to  the  ecclesiastical 
authority,  and  when  they  failed  to  obey, 
he  placed  the  church  under  interdict  and 
pronounced  canonical  penalities  upon  the 
ringleaders  and  all  those  who  resisted  his 
authority.  Here,  too,  the  innocent  suf- 
fered with  the  guilty.  The  church  re- 
mained closed  during  July,  August  and 
September.  Early  in  October  the  Bishop 
in  person  opened  the  church  and  for  one 
Sunday  conducted  the  services,  and  then 


and  precisely  this  apostolic  poverty  was 
the  chief  cause  of  his  happiness  because, 
beyond  the  wants  of  daily  bread  and  ves- 
ture he  had  none,  and  these  were  abun- 
dantly supplied,  though  they  would  not 
have  satisfied  an  epicure  or  a  gallant,  they 
were  good  enough  for  him.  Now,  his 
elevation  to  the  episcopal  rank  has  robbed 
him  of  that  peaceful,  happy  life  and  has 
in  no  way  recompensed  him  with  tempo- 
ral advantages,  for  he  became  poorer 
than  ever.     He   was  like  unto  a   father 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


247 


whose  children  cry  for  bread  and  he  has 
none  to  give  them,  nor  even  a  place  to 
earn  it  for  them.  With  accustomed  self- 
denial  he  could  have  borne  his  own  tempo- 
ral poverty,  were  it  not  for  the  demands 
made  upon  him  which  he  could  not  satis- 
fy. The  bareness  of  his  little  churches 
loudly  spoke  to  his  gentle  heart  for  the 
necessary  utensils;  the  few  people  widely 
scattered  appealed  to  him  for  a  pastor, 
and  he  had  none  to  send  them.  Small 
winder  then,  that  thoughts  of  resigning 
his  office  frequently  invaded  his  mind. 
The    advanced    age    of    sixty-five    years 


OZ^Y- 


SIGNATURE   OF    POPE 

nus    ix. 


would  have  sufficiently  justified  the  step, 
could  but  another  reason,  that  of  infirm- 
ity be  added.  Although  of  small  build, 
he  was  still  hale  and  hearty,  and  the  long 
Indian-missionary  life  had  made  him 
wiry  and  of  almost  inexhaustible  endur- 
ance. So  he  continued  to  fill  the  See 
upon  which  1'rovidence  had  placed  him. 
To  relieve  the  great  want  of  priests  he 
adopted  from  outside  Revs.  Benjamin 
Lebouc  and  Francois  J.  Helliard  in  1871 ; 
Mois  Mainville,  Joseph  F.  Berube,  Ana- 
cletus  O.  Pellisson  in  '72 :  William  T. 
Roy  in  '73  '•  John  Brown,  Hugh  Mc- 
Devitt,  Simon  Marceau  in  '74.  Not  sat- 
isfied to  people  the  diocese  with  an  alien 
clergy,  he  made  use  of  all  means  at  his 
disposal,  however  meagre  at  that  time, 
to  procure  a  native  priesthood.  The 
Archbishop    and    Bishops    of    the    Pro- 


vince (at  that  time  Marquette  still  be- 
longed to  Cincinnati)  aware  of  the  needy 
condition  of  the  strugling  diocese,  voted 
him  in  perpetuum  two  free  places  in  the 
Propaganda,  Rome,  established  for  their 
benefit  by  a  charitable  legacy  of  the 
priest,  Jeoffray.  The  same  sacred  Con- 
exee'ation,  however,  allowed  only  one,  re- 
serving  the  other  for  the  Archbishop  and 
the  Bishops  of  the  Province."'  The  first 
one  to  occupy  this  place  was  Rev.  Martin 
Kehoe.  and  after  him  Rev.  Jos.  G.  Pin- 
ten  ;  at  present  the  privilege  is  enjoyed  by 
J.  Stenglein  who  is  expected  to  complete 
his  studies  at  the  close  of  the  present 
year   ( 1 905 ) . 

On  the  23rd  of  April  1875  Bishop 
Mrak  ordained  Rev.  Peter  Menard. 

The  diocese  of  Marquette  belonged, 
since  its  formation  as  Vicariate  Apostolic 
in  1S53,  to  the  Province  of  Cincinnati  to- 
gether wth  her  sister  dioceses  of  Cleve- 
land, Columbus,  Covington,  Detroit,  Fort 
Wayne,  Louisville  and  Vincennes.  The 
Province  of  St.  Louis  was  an  extraordi- 
narv  large  one  having  as  suffragan  dio- 
ceses Alton,  Chicago,  Dubuque,  Green 
Bay,  La  Crosse,  Milwaukee,  Nashville, 
Santa  Fe,  St.  Joseph,  St.  Paul,  Vicariates 
Apostolic  of  Arizona,  Colorado,  Indian 
Territorv.  Montana  and  Nebraska — fif- 
teen in  all,  embracing  the  states  of  Mis- 
souri, Tennessee,  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Minnesota, 
Dakota,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Arizona 
and  Indian  Territory,  covering  an  area 
of  1,041,555  square  miles,  or  almost  five 
times  as  large  as  the  whole  German  Em- 
pire. This  colossal  Province  Pius  IX.  dis- 
membered  by  erecting    Milwaukee    and 


3  Letter    of    Card.    Franchi,    Praef.,    May    31, 
1875.     Archiv.  Mar. 


248 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Santa  Fe  into  Metropolitan  Sees  on  the 
1 2th    of    February    1875.      In    the    new 
Province   of   Milwaukee,   besides    Green 
Bay,  La  Crosse,  St.  Paul,  the  Vicariate 
Apostolic  of  Northern  Minnesota  was  al- 
so   included    the   Diocese    of    Sault    Ste. 
Marie  and  Marquette.     The  papal  Able- 
gate   Monsignor    Roncetti,    accompanied 
by  Dr.  Ubaldi,  had  brought  to  Cardinal 
McCloskey  of  New  York  the  Biretta  and 
at  the   same   time   carried   the   Apostolic 
Briefs  and  the  Pallium  for  the  first  Arch- 
bishop of  Milwaukee.    On  May  31st  they 
arrived  in  the  city.    "On  the  3d  of  June, 
the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi,  were  as- 
sembled   in    the    Bishop's    Hall    a    great 
number  of  priests  from  the  Archdiocese 
and  the  neighboring  dioceses  and  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishops,  Ffeiss  of  La  Crosse;  Mrak 
of  Marquette,  Foley  of  Chicago,  Ryan  of 
St.  Louis,  Seidenbusch  of  St.  Cloud  and 
Krautbauer  of  Green  Bay.     The  joyous 
pealing  of  bells  accompanied  the  psalm- 
ody of  two  hundred  and  twenty  seminar- 
ians,  over  two  hundred  priests  and  the 
above  bishops  in  their  solemn  procession 
to   the   Cathedral.      The   Bishop   of  La- 
Crosse,  as  senior  bishop  of  the  Province, 
celebrated  the  Pontifical  Highmass  with 
Rev.  Father  Batz  as  deacon,  Father  Wil- 
lard  as  sub-deacon,  and  Father  Wappel- 
horst,    the    rector    of    the    Seminary,    as 
master  of  ceremonies.     Assistants  to  the 
Archbishop    on    the    throne    were    Rev. 
Father    Lalumiere,     S.     J.,     archpriest; 
Fathers  Donoghoe  and  Casey  deacons  of 
honor;  Rev.  J.  Joseph  Keogh,  professor 
at    the    seminary,    was    master    of   cere- 
monies.    After  the  gospel  Bishop  Ryan 
ascended  the  pulpit  taking  for  his  text 
the  fifth  verse  of  the  XV.  chapter  of  St. 
John. 


"After  the  Pontifical  Mass  the  cele- 
brant congratulated  the  Archbishop  upon 
his  well  deserved  elevation,  paying  high 
tribute  to  his  long  labors  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord.  Thereupon  the  Apostolic 
Ablegate,  Msgr.  Roncetti,  explained  the 
meaning  of  the  Pallium,  spoke  at  large 
of  the  archiepiscopal  dignity,  alluding  to 
the  splendid  merits  of  the  first  bishop  of 
the  State,  he  expressed  his  great  delight 
to  have  been  chosen  as  the  bearer  of  this 
token  of  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the 
Holy  Father  and  concluded  with  the  ex- 
pression of  sincerest  hope  that  priests 
and  the  faithful  will  in  this  marked  be- 
nevolence of  the  Holy  See  receive  a  new 
impulse  to  remain  loyal  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  the  Mother  and  Teach- 
er of  all  churches. 

"The  Archbishop  deeply  moved  an- 
swered likewise  in  the  Latin  tongue  'That 
you,  Most  Reverend  Ablegate  were  or- 
dered, by  a  special  disposal  of  kind  Provi- 
dence, to  the  greater  honor  of  the  Church 
in  the  United  States,  by  our  Holy  Father 
Pius  IX.  to  bring  to  the  excellent  Arch- 
bishop of  New  York  the  mark  of  his  car- 
dinalitial  dignity  was  well  known  to  us. 
But  who  would  have  presumed  that  you 
would  visit  our  humble  city,  that  such  a 
solemnity  would  take  place  here  today, 
and  that  such  an  honor  would  be  con- 
ferred upon  this,  by  Gregory  XVI.  erected 
episcopal  See.  It  was  even  at  that  time  a 
great  favor  raising  me,  though  unworthy, 
to  such  dignity  and  entrusting  to  me  the 
jurisdiction  over  a  territory  peopled 
mostly  by  Indians  and  in  which  I  found 
four  missionaries  but  where  today 
through  the  mercies  of  God  there  are 
four  episcopal  Sees  and  more  and  more 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


249 


prospects  for  the  spreading  of  our  Holy 
Church. 

"God — the  strength  of  those  who  con- 
fide in  Him — is  truly  wonderful  in  the 
government  of  His  Church  through  the 
Apostolic  See  from  which  flows  all  power, 
because  the  Chair  of  the  Apostle  Peter 
is  a  living  fountain  from  which  streams 
the  blessing  over  the  entire  earth.  It  is 
the  ever  fruit-bearing  tree  giving  life  to 
the  faithful,  it  is  the  inextinguishable 
torch  illuminating  all  darkness. 


our    most    glorious,  most  beloved   Holy 
Father,  the  Pope."  4 

Vicar  General  Muehlsiepen  of  St. 
Louis  read  the  papal  documents,  Bishop 
Heiss  invested  the  new  Archbishop  with 
the  Pallium,  and  after  his  blessing  the 
solemnity  ended.  The  following  day  the 
Archbishop  and  the  Bishops,  Heiss, 
Mrak,  Ryan  and  Krautbauer  called  on 
Msgr.  Roncetti  and  Dr.  Ubaldi  at  the 
Salesianum. 

Bishop  Mrak  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian 


IHE    OLD    TIME    STAGE    FROM    NEGAUNEE    TO    MARQUETTE. 


"Your  esteemed  presence  here  today, 
Most  Reverend  Ablegate  fills  my  heart 
with  great  joy  inasmuch  as  you  have 
deigned,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of 
the  Holy  Father,  to  bring  me,  one  un- 
worthy of  such  favor,  the  Pallium  from 
the  tomb  of  St.  Peter.  I  thank  you  with 
all  my  heart  for  this  act  of  your  benevo- 
lence which  prompted  you  and  your  com- 
panion to  undergo  the  unpleasantness  of 
a  long  journey  and  I  pray  to  God  that 
He  may  bless  you,  and  His  Holy  Angel 
guard  and  guide  vou  back  to  the  feet  of 


expecting  his  priests  not  only  to  observe 
the  laws  of  the  church  and  the  regulations 
of  the  diocese  with  scrupulous  exactness, 
but  to  be  models  in  all  those  virtues  which 
are  the  basis  of  sacerdotal  life.  There 
was  no  stipulated  salary;  'browse,'  he 
used  to  say.  knowing  that  none  of  them 
could  get  more,  at  his  best,  than  a  respect- 
able living.  Many  of  them  had  a  diffi- 
culty to  get  even  that  and  consequently 
complaints  to  that  effect   were  not  few. 


1  Dr.  Johann  Martin  Henni,  by  Bishop  Marty ; 
pp.  29S-300. 


250 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


One  priest  substantiated  his  poverty  by 
saying  that  not  even  milk  was  obtainable 
in  his  place.  Shortly  afterward  the  Bish- 
op brought  him  a  cow. 


tions  of  the  Propagation  of  Faith  Socie- 
ties in  Europe,  which  in  his  time  had  be- 
come a  mere  pittance,  he  accepted  his  sus- 
tenance and  used  the  balance  for  the  mis- 


RT.   REV.  JOHN   STARIHA,  BISHOP  OF  LEAD,  S.   D. 


If  there  was  no  stipulated  salary  there 
was  no  Cathedraticum  of  any  kind;  Bish- 
op Mrak  did  not  receive  from  the  diocese 
even  a  livinsr.     From  the  annual  dona- 


sions  where  it  was  mostly  needed.  The 
bishop's  residence,  costing  some  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  was  wholly  paid  for 
from  this  source.  Any  tendency  on  the  part 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


251 


of  his  priests  to  accumulate  money  was,  in 
his  sight,  a  fault,  for  he  believed,  like  his 
saintly  predecessor,  that  godliness  with 
contentment  is  great  gain.  (i.  Tim.  66.) 
He  also  had  a  keen  sense  of  justice,  al- 
though in  the  following  instance  he  was 
not  up-held  in  foro  externo.  A  servant 
complained  to  him  that  a  priest  refused 
to  pay  her  the  full  wages  agreed  to  and 
upon  investigating  her  claim,  suspended 
the  priest  promptly,  because  he  consid- 
ered the  withholding  of  wages  as  one  of 
those  sins  which  cry  to  heaven  for  ven- 
geance. The  priest  appealed  his  case  to 
Rome  and,  for  lack  of  proper  representa- 
tion the  Bishop  lost  the  case,  but  the 
priest  was  removed  to  the  diocese  of  Chi- 
cago and  the  woman  referred  to  the  civil 
courts. 

The  development  of  the  diocese  during 
twenty  years  was  a  slow  one ;  there  were 
no  rapid  strides  made  by  any  congrega- 
tion, still  the  Bishop  thought  that  certain 
rules  ought  to  be  laid  down  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  temporal  affairs  simi- 
lar to  those  in  other  dioceses.  Under  date 
of  January  14,  1875  he  enjoined  the  fol- 
lowing regulations : 

"1.  In  every  Catholic  congregation 
there  must  be  a  Council  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  temporal  affairs. 

2.  The  Council  shall  be  composed  of 
the  Pastor  and  two  lay-members  in  all 
congregations  of  fewer  than  three  hun- 
dred souls;  of  the  Pastor  and  four  lay- 
members  of  all  congregations  of  more 
than  three  hundred  souls. 

3.  The  Resident  Pastor,  or  (in  mis- 
sion places)  the  visiting  Priest,  shall  al- 
ways be  one  of  the  councilmen  and  presi- 
dent of  the  body.    He  shall  hold  his  office 


permanently,  unless  removed  by  the 
Bishop. 

4.  None  shall  be  Candidates  for  the 
office  of  councilman  except  members  of 
the  congregation,  contributing  to  its 
charges,  men  of  mature  age.  of  good, 
moral  and  peaceable  character,  and  who 
comply  with  their  Easter  duty. 

=;.     Electors  of  said  councilmen  are  all 


key.  peter  gallagher,  hied  at  st.  james,  mich., 
nov.   13,   1898. 

the  male  members  above  twenty-one 
vears,  who  are  actual  members  of  the 
congregation,  and  contribute  their  regu- 
lar share  to  its  charges. 

6.  The  Election  shall  take  place  in 
the  following  manner :  On  the  first  Sun- 
day in  January,  'or  in  small  congrega- 
tions, on  the  first  visit  of  the  Priest  after 
New  Year,  the  Pastor  will  present  a  List 
of   Candidates,   chosen   by   himself,   and 


252 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


containing  not  fewer  than  three  times  the 
number  of  councilmen  to  be  elected,  and 
the  Electors  shall  make  a  choice  amongst 
the  candidates  so  presented.  The  votes, 
written  on  tickets,  shall  be  taken,  and  the 
candidates  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes,  shall  become  members  of  the  Coun- 
cil. None  but  candidates  presented  on 
the  list  can  be  elected,  and  all  the  votes 
sriven  to  others  shall  be  null  and  void. 


REV.    FRANCOIS     BERUBE,    PIED    AT    CHICAGO,    ILL, 
ATR1L   22,    10,02. 

7.  The  Councilmen  elected  shall  hold 
office  for  the  term  of  two  years,  except 
in  the  following  case ;  after  the  expiration 
of  one  year  from  the  formation  of  a 
Council,  half  their  number  shall  resign, 
and  be  replaced  by  one  or  two  others. 
The  out-going  member  or  members  to 
be   chosen   by   lot,    in-going   member   or 


members  to  be  elected  in  conformity  to 
number  6. 

8.  Should  any  of  the  Councilmen  fail 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  or  in  the  re- 
spect due  to  the  Priest,  or  give  any  public 
scandal,  the  Bishop  must  be  informed, 
and 'has  the  right  to  remove  from  office 
such  unworthy  members  of  the  Council. 

9.  In  case  of  death,  departure,  re- 
moval, or  voluntary  resignation  of  any 
Councilman,  no  new  election  is  necessary 
lie  fore  January,  as  long  as  one  member  in 
small  congregations,  or  two  members  in 
large  congregations,  continue  to  assist 
the  Pastor  in  his  administration. 

10.  The  out-going  Councilmen  may 
be  presented  again  by  the  Pastor,  and  in 
such  case  may  be  re-elected. 

1 1 .  The  Officers  of  the  Council  shall 
be:  the  Pastor  as  President,  a  Secretary 
and  a  Treasurer. 

\2.  The  Secretary  and  the  Treasurer 
shall  be  elected  by  a  majority  of  Council- 
men  in  the  next  meeting  after  the  elec- 
tion, and  shall  serve  one  year. 

13.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Presi- 
dent to  convoke  meetings,  to  preside 
thereat,  and  to  preserve  order  therein. 
The  Council  shall  meet  once  in  every 
three  months,  and  the  President  is  au- 
thorized to  convoke  extra  meetings. 

14.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secre- 
tary to  take  minutes  of  each  meeting,  and 
to  transcribe  them  in  a  book  kept  for  that 
purpose.  He  shall  draw  up  every  year  a 
strict  account  of  all  the  revenues  ami  ex- 
penses of  the  fiscal  year,  and  a  Budget 
made  in  a  similar  manner  for  the  begin- 
ning year. 

15.  The  Treasurer  has  to  collect  all 
the  moneys  due  to  the  Church,  and  to  pay 
the  obligations  of  the  congregation,  but 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


253 


never  without  a  written  order  of  the 
Pastor.  He  shall  keep  a  strict  account  of 
his  receipts  and  disbursements,  and  shall 
present  a  written  Report  of  them  at  every 
regular  meeting  of  the  Council.  At  every 
request  of  the  Pastor,  he  must  present 
the  account-books  for  his   inspection. 

16.  The  one  and  same  Councilman 
can  hold  the  two  offices  of  secretary  and 
treasurer,  and  the  Pastor  himself,  if  elect- 
ed by  a  majority  of  Councilmen. 

17.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Coun- 
cil: 1st,  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the 
clergy;  2nd,  to  examine,  decide,  and  exe- 
cute whatever  relates  to  building,  im- 
proving, or  repairing  of  church,  school 
house,  Priest's  house,  and  parochial  in- 
stitutions; 3rd.  to  administer  the  property 
and  pay  the  obligations  of  the  congre- 
gation. In  the  exercise  of  its  duties,  the 
Council  must  observe  the  following 
rules : 

1 8.  The  lay-members  of  the  Council 
being  elected  for  the  purpose  only  of  aid- 
ing the  Pastor  in  his  temporal  adminis- 
tration, no  decision  can  be  taken  against 
his  will,  and  he  may  put  his  veto  on  all 
the  measures  of  which  he  does  not  ap- 
prove. If  a  majority  of  Councilmen  per- 
sist in  carrying  such  measures,  or  reject 
some  propositions  made  by  the  Pastor,  the 
case  must  be  presented  to  the  Bishop, 
whose  decision  shall  bind  the  Pastor  and 
the  other  Councilmen. 

19.  The  salary  of  the  Pastor  is  fixed 
by  the  Bishop  and  must  be  paid  monthly 
or  quarterly. 

20.  The  Pastor  shall  also  be  provided 
with  a  house  and  suitable  furniture,  or 
otherwise  with  sufficient  means  of  pro- 
curing them. 

21.  The   congregation    shall   pay   for 


all  the  things  necessary  for  the  altar,  as 
bread,  wine,  candles,  vestments,  &c,  &c. 
In  order  to  provide  for  these  expenses,  a 
collection  is  taken  up  on  Sundays  and 
Holydays,  by  one  of  the  Councilmen,  and 
deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer, 
who  has  to  keep,  and  give  in  due  time  a 
strict  account  of  it. 

22.     The    Sexton,    Organist.    Singers, 


REV.     LUKE     MOZINAj     DIED    AT     ST.     JOSEPHS 
RETREAT,    DEARBORN,    MICH. 

and  all  officers  of  the  church,  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  Pastor,  and  their  salary 
fixed  by  him.  If  the  lay-members  of  the 
Council  are  opposed  to  such  nominations 
or  to  the  salary,  the  Bishop  must  be  in- 
formed and  give  his  decision. 

23.  The  School  remains  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Priest.  He  alone  can  ap- 
point the  teacher,  dismiss  him,  fix  his  sal- 


254 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ary,  and  give  for  the  school  such  regula- 
tions as  he  thinks  proper.  Xo  special 
school  directors  are  allowed ;  and  in  case 
of.  opposition  from  the  lay-members  of 
the  Council  to  anything  concerning  school 
or  teacher,  the  Bishop  must  be  informed* 
and  settle  the  difficulty. 

24.  The  Bishop  being  responsible  for 
the  good  administration  of  each  congre- 
gation, a  strict  account  of  all  the  revenues 
and  expenses  of  each  year,  from  the  1st 


REV.    ANTHONY    HUBLY,    DIED    JANUARY 
4,    l8S0,    AT    CHAMPION,    MICH. 

of  January  to  the  31st  of  December,  must 
be  sent  to  him  for  inspection  before  Eas- 
ter of  the  ensuing  year,  in  a  duplicate 
form,  signed  by  the  Councilmen.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Secretary  must  draw  up 
a  Budget  of  all  the  probable  revenues  and 
expenses  for  the  ensuing  year,  send  it 
signed  by  the  Council,  in  a  duplicate  form, 
to  the  Bishop,  and  submit  it  for  his  ap- 
probation. 

25.     This   yearly    account    of    all   the 


revenues  and  Expenses  must  be  read  by 
the  Pastor  to  his  congregation  during 
Mass,  on  the  first  Sunday  after  it  has 
been  approved  by  the  Council. 

26.  A  special  authorization  of  the 
Bishop  is  required: 

1.  For  laying  out  in  the  year  any 
sum  of  maney  exceeding  $100,  for  ex- 
penses not  inscribed  and  approved  in  the 
Budget. 

2.  For  making  in  the  year  over  Sioo 
debts  not  approved  before  in  the 'Budget. 

3.  For  building  or  enlarging  a  church. 

4.  For  receiving  a  Fund  with  charges. 

5.  For  lending  on  interest  money  be- 
longing to  the  congregation. 

2j.  The  Pastor  shall  keep  a  writ- 
ten account  of  all  the  property,  house  and 
church  furniture,  belonging  to  the  con- 
gregation, and  present  a  copy  of  it  to  the 
Bishop  at  the  time  of  his  visitation.  This 
Inventory  must  be  signed  by  the  Council- 
men  and  include  all  the  articles  acquired 
after  the  signature  up  to  the  time  of  its 
presentation  to  the  Bishop." 

The  priest's  salary  was  limited  to  five 
hundred  per  annum,  provided  the  bal- 
ance, after  the  ordinary  expenses  were 
paid,  warranted  that  sum,  if  not  he.  still 
kept  on  "browsing." 

During  the  eight  years  of  Bishop 
Mrak's  administration  conditions  in  the 
diocese  did  not  change  materially.  New 
missions  sprung  up  but  added  only  new 
care  and  gave  scanty  support  to  the  mis- 
sionary whose  services  they  required. 
Hut  one  thing  stands  to  the  Bishop's  ever- 
lasting credit,  that  he  made  an  heroic 
effort  to  reopen  at  least  those  two  schools 
which  had  closed  doors  during  the  first 
year  of  his  episcopate.  At  his  invitation 
the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


255 


Mary  of  Monroe,  Mich.,  reopened  the 
parochial  school  in  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  in 
the  fall  of  1875  and  two  years  later — ■ 
September  1877 — the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  again  in  Hancock. 

With  the  month  of  October  of  1877, 
the  Bishop  had  entered  upon  his  sixty 
eighth  year ;  his  health  up  to  that  time 
was  exceedingly  good.  In  the  following 
winter  an  attack  of  sciatic  rheumatism 
crippled  him  completely,  for  almost  six 
months  he  was  compelled  to  make  his 
bed  on  the  floor  to  alleviate  his  pain. 
With  the  arrival  of  spring  and  summer 
his  condition  failed  to  improve  much,  and 
he  was  advised  to  try  a  water  cure.  The 
nearest  institution  of  that  kind  was  a 
place  in  Milwaukee,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  old  Jesuit  residence,  kept  by  a 
man  under  the  supervision  of  a  physician 
of  some  local  repute. 

Becoming  the  guest  of  Vicar  General 
Kundig,  Bishop  Mrak  frequented  the 
establishment  without  much  beneficial  re- 
sult. Forcing  facts  to  an  issue  he  was 
plainly  told  that  for  a  man  of  his  years 
there  was  no  cure.  Reconciled  to  his  fate 
he  realized  that  in  his  condition  he  could 
no  longer  bear  the  responsibility  of  the 
episcopate  while  not  being  able  to  attend 
to  its  duties.  The  archbishop  was  ap- 
prised of  the  facts ;  the  good  Bishop  re- 
turning home  wrote  to  the  Holy  Father 
his  resignation  without  any  ostentation. 
It  was  not  known  until  the  winter  of 
1879  when  his  resignation  was  accepted 
and  the  See  declared  vacant.  Accepting 
his  resignation  the  Holy  See  gave  him 
the  title  of  bishop  of  Antinoe  in  partibus 
and  allowed  him  an  annuity  of  seven 
hundred    dollars    from    the    diocese,    the 


government  of  which  he  had  just  relin- 
quished. 

Rev.  Edward  Jacker  became  a  second 
time  administrator  sede  vacante.  May 
1 6th  the  new  bishop  was  appointed  in  the 
person  of  Rt.  Rev.  John  Vertin.  Bishop 
Mrak  remained  in  Marquette  until  after 
the  consecration  of  his  successor,  Sep- 
tember    14th.       His    physical     condition 


REV.     JOHN     BROWN,     DIED     IN     FORT     HOWARD,     WIS., 
DEC.    1885. 

turned  towards  the  better  and  at  the 
urgent  request  of  Bishop  Vertin,  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  scarcity  of  priests,  he 
accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Xegaunee 
church,  succeeding  Bishop  Vertin,  who 
had  succeeded  him  in  the  episcopate. 
Bishop  Mrak  remained  pastor  in  Ne- 
gaunee  till  the  end  of  September  1880 
when  he  resigned  his  charge  but  was  per- 


256 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


suaded  to  attend  to  the  parish  in  Menomi- 
nee until  a  successor  to  Father  Eis.  who 
was  appointed  to  Xegaunee,  could  be  had. 
In  February  1S81  he  came  to  Marquette 
and  made  his  home  with  Bishop  Vertin 
until  the  summer  of  1883,  when  he  re- 
moved as  chaplain  to  St.  Joseph's  Con- 
vent. In  that  position  he  remained  only 
about  a  year  when  with  impn  iving  health 
a  longing  after  the  Indian  missions 
awoke  in  his  heart.  Bishop  Richter  of 
Grand   Rapids  most  cordially   welcomed 


op.  he  induced  the  Dominican  Sisters  to 
teach  the  Indian  school,  and  with  them  he 
shared  the  small  annuity,  which  he  was 
receiving  from  his  former  diocese. 

In  September  1891 — Bishop  Mrak  was 
then  in  his  eighty  first  year — Bishop 
Vertin  celebrated  his  Silver  Jubilee  of 
Priesthood  and  contemplated,  after  the 
celebration,  a  journey  to  Rome.  Follow- 
ing more  the  pressing  invitation  of  Bish- 
op Vertin  than  for  reasons  of  his  ad- 
vanced   age.    Bishop    Mrak    returned    to 


BISHOP    MRAK    GOING    TO    THE    CONSECRATION    OF    BISHOP    EIS. 


the  veteran  missionary  into  his  diocese 
and  gave  him  at  his  own  request,  the 
little  Indian  mission  at  Eagle  Town, 
Leelenaw  Co.  Here  he  seemed  to  have 
found  contentment  in  a  sphere  most  suit- 
able to  his  liking.  He  worked  like  an 
ordinary  priest  and  made  no  pretensions 
on  account  of  his  episcopal  dignity,  and 
was  so  much  more  beloved  by  his  Ordi- 
nary, priests  and  the  laity.  In  1888, 
with  the  permission  of  the  diocesan  bish- 


Marquette,  September  1st,  and  became 
administrator  of  the  diocese  during  the 
absence  of  its  Ordinary.  That  he  was  by 
no  means  enfeebled  by  his  age,  two  func- 
tions which  he  performed  during  his  Ad- 
ministratorship go  well  to  prove ;  the  one 
was  the  blessing  of  bells,  in  October,  for 
the  Austrian  Church  in  Red  Jacket  and 
the  other  one.  the  funeral  of  Father 
Rousseau  in  St.  Ann's  church,  Menomi- 
nee,  November  25,   1891.     On  this  last 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


257 


occasion  he  celebrated  a  Pontifical  High-  and  on  the  streets  in  the  neighborhood 

mass.  of  the  Cathedral,  where  he  took  his  daily 

Since  his  return   to  the  city  of   Alar-  walks     no    matter    how     inclement     the 

qnette  he  was  domiciled  in  the  St.  Mary's  weather.       Down     in     Lower     Michigan 

Hospital    holding   a    sort    of   chaplaincy,  among  his  beloved  Indians,  Bishop  Mrak 


RT.  REV.  IGNATIUS  MRAK  IN    HIS   NINETIES. 


The  good  Sisters  had  furnished  for  him  a 


had  quietly  celebrated  his  Golden  Jubilee 
suite  of  rooms  on  the  first  floor  and  the  of  Priesthood  and  lived  to  see  his  Silver 
venerable  Bishop  became  once  more  a  well  Jubilee  of  the  Episcopate.  On  the  8th 
known  figure  in  and  around  the  hospital,     of  February  1894  he  celebrated  a  Pontifi- 


258 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


cal  Highmass  and  received  the  well- 
wishes  of  Bishop  Vertin  and  priests  of 
the  diocese  among  whom  were  Fathers 
Langner"  Eis  and  Menard,  the  only  three 
left  from  among  those  whom  he  had 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  Priesthood. 

While  at  the  St.  Mary's  Hospital 
Bishop  Mrak  exercised  his  accustomed 
activity  until  age  forbade  his  moving 
around.  He  visited  daily  each  patient 
in  the  hospital  and  had  words  of  comfort 


German,  on  Astronomy5  and  read  it 
with  the  enthusiasm  and  the  interest  of 
a  professor  in  that  science.  Indeed  his 
unassuming  appearance  and  his  humility 
concealed  a  good  deal  of  his  learning. 
His  humility  is  loo  well  known  to  speak 
of  it.  His  charities  no  man  will  ever 
know.  He  gave  away,  not  to  his  rela- 
tives, but  to  deserving  poor  and  good 
purposes,  gave  all  he  had.  The  Indians 
kept  up  a  well  beaten  path  from  Presque 


THE  REMAINS  OF  BISHOr  MRAK   IN    STATE  AT   ST.   PETER'S  CATHEDRAL,    MARQUETTE,   MICH. 


for  each  of  them.  He  said  Mass  every 
morning  at  six  o'clock  in  the  chapel  until 
ten  days  before  his  death.  The  activity 
of  his  mind  was  by  far  greater  than  that 
of  his  body.  By  means  of  divers  news- 
papers, for  which  he  subscribed  himself, 
he  kept  posted  on  the  daily  occurrences  in 
the  world.  No  new  book  of  any  conse- 
quence escaped  his  notice.  When  eighty 
seven   years   old   he   bought   a   book,    in 


Isle  to  St.  Mary's  Hospital  to  receive  his 
alms;  how  often  this  venerable  Bishop 
climbed  the  steps  to  the  north  entrance 
of  the  St.  Joseph's  Academy  to  hand  his 
envelope  into  the  hands  of  the  superioress 
with  the  brief  remark  "This  is  for  the 
orphans,  but  don't  tell  anybody,"  only 
Mother  Agnes  could  tell.     We  ourselves 


6  Himmelskunck  von  Joseph  Plassmann  ;   now 
in   our   possession. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


259 


have  been  the  recipient  of  such  an  enve- 
lope, inclosing  eighty  silver  dollars,  for 
the  use  of  our  mission.  These  were  the 
savings  above  his  needs,  from  his  pen- 
sion, and  he  expended  them  as  fast  as 
he  received  them.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  there  were  still  three  hundred  dol- 
lars due  him  which  he  allowed  to  remain 
in  Bishop  Vertin's  possession  for  burial 
purposes,  otherwise  he  died  penniless. 

Bishop  Mrak  outlived  his  successor, 
John  Vertin.  who  died  on  February  26, 
1899  and  was  present  at  his  obsequies 
with  that  equanimity,  his  great  charac- 
teristic in  life,  which  embodies  Christian 
faith  and  hope  in  the  eternal  life  beyond 
the  grave.  Again,  and  for  the  last  time, 
he  made  his  public  appearance,  donned 
his  episcopal  robes,  on  the  24th  of  August 
of  the  same  year,  when,  following  the  sol- 
emn procession  to  the  consecration  of  the 
fourth  bishop  of  Marquette,  he  with 
firm  step  made  his  way  to  the  Cathedral 
and  took  his  seat  in  the  sanctuary  among 
younger  fellow  bishops  who  had  assem- 
bled for  the  occasion.  Rev.  Frederick 
Eis,  whom  he  had  raised  to  priesthood 
himself,  was  being  consecrated  a  bishop — 
what  might  have  been  his  thoughts ! ' 

At  last  his  own  summons  came !  His 
life,  ennobled  by  unselfishness,  great 
charity,  exemplary  humility,  piety  and 
purity  closed  on  Wednesday,  January  2, 
1901 ;  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at 
the  grand  old  age  of  eighty  nine  years, 


two  months  and  sixteen  days,  he  breathed 
his  pure  soul  into  the  hands  of  his  Maker. 
The  solemn  obsequies  were  held  on  Sat- 
urday, January  5th,  at  St.  Peter's  Cathe- 
dral, Marquette,  at  9  o'clock. 

The  casket,  containing  all  that  was 
mortal  of  the  second  bishop  of  Marquette, 
was  enclosed  in  a  wooden  box  and  de- 
posited in  the  mortuary  vault  beneath  the 
Cathedral,  in  the  niche  above  that  of 
Bishop  Baraga.  The  inscription  on  the 
closing  marble  slab  is  the  following: 
Jacet  hie  in  Domino 
Ignatius  Mrak 

Episcopus  Antinoensis.  Secundus  An- 
tistes  Marianopolitanus  et  Marquettensis. 
Xatus  in  Poljane,  Carniolia,  Austria,  16. 
Octobris,  A.  D.  18 10.  Presbyter  f actus 
Labaci  die  13.  Augusti  A.  D.  1837.  Epis- 
ci  ipus  consecratus  Cincinnati  die  septima 
Februarii.  A.  D.  1869.  Titularis  Anti- 
noensis A.  D.  1878.  Obiit  die  2.  Jan. 
1 90 1 . 

Laudant  eum  opera  pro  conversione 
Otchipwe-Indianorum.  Fidelis  Baragae 
Cooperator  et  successor.  '"'    R.  I.  P. 


Here  in  th*  Lord  lieth 
Ignatius  Mrak 
Bishop   of   Antinoe;    Second    Ordinary    of    Sault 
Ste.   Marie  and  Marquette. 

Born  in  Poljane,  Carniolia,  Austria,  October  16, 
1810.  Ordained  priest  in  Laibach,  August  13, 
1837.  Consecrated  Bishop  in  Cincinnati  Febru- 
ary 7,  1869.  Made  titular  Bishop  of  Antinoe  in 
1878.  Died  January  2,  1901.  His  labors  for  the 
conversion  of  Otchipwe  Indians  glorify  him. 
Faithful  co-worker  and  successor  of  Baraga. 
May  he  rest  in  peace. 


Chapter     X. 
THE    RIGHT    REV.    JOHN    VERTIN,    D.    D. 

His  family  connections.— His  early  Education.— His  arrival  in  America.— His 
ordination  to  priesthood. — Priestly  labors. — Elevation  to  the  Episcopate. 
His  consecration  in  Negaunee. — The  Burning  of  his  Cathedral 
and  concomitant  troubles. 


Upon  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Mrak, 
the  bishops  of  the  Province,  Archbishop 
Henni,  of  Milwaukee,  Bishop  Heiss  of 
LaCrosse  and  Bishop  Krautbauer  of 
Green  Bay,  were  in  a  quandary  selecting 
a  bishop  for  Marquette.  It  was  not  a 
question  of  nationality,  as  in  most  in- 
stances nowadays,  but  the  plain  reality 
of  finding  a  man  who  could  most  ably 
fill  the  position.  Next  to  the  personal 
qualifications  considered  were  those  of 
being  able  to  furnish  means  for  his  own 
subsistence  as  the  contributions  from  the 
Propagation  of  Faith  Societies  from 
abroad  could  no  longer  be  depended  upon, 
and  the  diocese  yielded  about  nothing,  so 
they  selected  primo  loco  the  Rev.  John 
McMullen,  a  priest  of  Chicago,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Davenport,  Iowa,  who, 
upon  being  apprised  of  this  fact,  advised 
the  Bishops  that  he  would  under  no  cir- 
cumstances accept  the  honor  if  elected  by 
the  Pontiff.  To  obviate  any  such  refusal 
a  new  slate  was  drawn  up  with  the  Rev. 
John  Yertin  as   dignissimus,   Rev.   John 


Cebul  as  dignior  and  the  Rev.  Edward 
[acker  as  dignus.  The  Holy  Father  se- 
lected the  first  named  Father  Vertin  of 
Negaunee. 

John  Vertin  was  born,  as  were  both  his 
predecessors,  in  the  Province  of  Carnio- 
lia,  Austria,  at  Doblice  on  the  17th  of 
July,  1844.  His  parents  were  Joseph 
and  Mary,  nee  Derzaj,  Wertin.  They 
had  four  children : 

1.  Joseph  L.  Wertin,  born  May  n, 
1 84 1,  died  in  Red  Jacket,  Mich.,  a  much 
respected  citizen,  September  20,   1895. 

2.  John  Vertin,  the  bishop. 

3.  Mary  Wertin,  born  July  29,  1846, 
died  as  Mrs.  Jos.  Bosch  at  Lake  Linden. 

4.  George  Wertin,  born  April  9, 
1849,  a  prominent  citizen  and  merchant 
of  Hancock,  Mich.,  died  in  Chicago, 
March  30,  1890,  and  was  brought  home 
for  interment  in  the  family  lot  in  the' 
Catholic  cem&tery  of  that  city. 

The  discrepancy  in  the  spelling  of  their 
family  name  is  simply  due  to  the  circum- 
stances   that    the    Bishop    retained    the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


261 


w 
D 
Of 
as 
< 
3 


262 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


original,  Slovenic  way  of  writing,  while 
his  father,  and  the  two  brothers  after 
him,  had  adopted  a  phonetic  spelling,  as  it 
was  pronounced  in  every  day  life. 

John  Vertin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  then,  the  second  oldest  child.  His 
schooling  commenced  in  his  eighth  year, 
in  the  town  of  Cernomelj  (Tschernembl), 
a  distance  of  four  miles  from  his  native 
village.  In  company  of  other  village 
children  John  measured  the  distance 
afoot,  back  and  forth,  every  day,  winter 
and  summer,  completing  in  four  years  the 
four,  normal  or  grammar,  grades. 

The  town  Cernomelj,  of  oldest  origin, 
is  located  in  the  extreme  south  east  cor- 
ner of  Carniolia.  For  the  section  of  the 
province  it  is  of  considerable  importance, 
being  the  seat  of  civil  and  political 
authority.  There  is  located  also  the  par- 
ish church  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  built 
in  1487,  from  which  the  surrounding 
country,  for  miles  and  miles,  receives  its 
spiritual  guidance.  Although  there  are 
fourteen  churches  within  this  circuit, 
none  of  them  has  a  resident  priest;  only 
from  time  to  time  Mass  is  being  cele- 
brated by  one  of  the  assistants  in  each  one 
of  them.  On  Sundays  people  flock  to  the 
town  in  throngs  to  attend  divine  services. 
In  18,41  the  parish  counted  five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  sixty  four  souls. 
Among  the  fourteen  villages  is  also 
Doblice  with  the  church  of  St.  Vitus. 
Baptisms  were  conferred  always  only  in 
the  parish  church.  Accordingly  John 
Vertin  was  baptized,  the  same  day  of  his 
birth,  by  the  assistant  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Barl.  His  godparents  were 
Michael  Music  and  Mary  Vertin. 

This  system  of  concentration  in  church 
attendance   is   still   in   vogue,   though   in 


schools  a  considerable  change  for  the 
better  has  taken  place  since  the  boyhood 
days  of  John  Vertin.  There  are  now, 
outside  of  the  city  four  well  graded 
schools,  and  in  Doblice,  where  once  the 
Vertin  home  stood,  as  house  number  thir- 
teen, in  a  fine  two-story  school  building. 
After  their  immigration  to  America  the 
Vertins  have  donated  the  whole  terrene 
of  their  former  home  for  school  purposes ; 
the  outlying  land  they  distributed  among 
the  relatives. 

The   possessions   of   the   Vertins   con- 
sisted mostly  of  lands.     They  were,  on 
account  of  the  poorness  of  the  soil,  as 
unproductive    as    they    were    extensive. 
Joseph  Wertin,  like  most  of  his  co-villag- 
ers,   saw    himself    compelled    to    seek    a 
more  lucrative  occupation  than  farming. 
The  country  at  home  offered  no  opportu- 
nities.    He  entrusted  the  government  of 
his  estate  to  his  wife  and  embarked  in  the 
haberdasher  business.      All  through   Ba- 
varia,   Saxony,    Wurtemberg    and    even 
Switzerland  he  retailed  all  kinds  of  dry 
goods  from  the  pack  on  his  back.     It  was 
a  hard  and  toilsome  life,  but  his  endur- 
ance  and   saving  habits  coached  him  to 
prosperity.      In  his  travels  he  had  read 
much  and  heard  more  of  the  opportuni- 
ties   in    America.       In    April     1852    he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  and  spent  five  years 
in   trading   in   the   Western    States.      In 
1857  he  returned  to  his  native  country. 
At  home  he  found  his  second   son  just 
completing  his  highest  grade  of  the  local 
school.     His  teachers  praised  his  blame- 
less conduct  and  his  great  talents.     Then 
the    reflections    came !       In    his    travels 
through   the   German   Provinces   he   had 
come    into    contact    with    many    and    all^ 
kinds  of  people:   he   had   slept,   many  a 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


263 


time,  under  the  roof  that  has  been  the 
humble  home  of  some  celebrated  profes- 
sor or  priest,  doctor  or  lawyer,  or  states- 
man. He  remembered  how  on  such 
occasions  his  thoughts  and  his  sighs  re- 
verted homeward.  Now  the  momentous 
opportunity  to  act  had  come.  Could  he 
afford  or  not?  His  better  judgment  pre- 
vailed !  He  had  decided  to  work  a  little 
harder  and  to  save  a  little  more  in  order 
to  afford  his  son  John  an  education.     In 


came  directly  to  Houghton,  where  they 
took  up  residence  with  their  husband  and 
father. 

Here  we  must  separate  the  story  of 
John  Vertin's  life  from  the  history  of  his 
family. 

John  Vertin  had  finished  in  Rudolf  s- 
vvert,  the  classical  course,  as  the  curricu- 
lum ran  in  those  days,  and  was  about  to 
enter  philosophy  when  he  emigrated  to 
ibis  country.     His  long  cherished  inten- 


SEMINARIANS    OF    ST.    FRANCIS    IN    1S65.      THE    SECOND   TO    THE    LEFT    IS    THE 

LATE    ARCHBISHOP    KATZER.    AND    THE    THIRD    FROM     THE    RICHT    IS    THE 

LATE   BISHOP   VERTIN. 


the  fall  of  1857  he  took  the  youth  to 
Rudolfswert  where  he  commenced  the 
collegiate  course  at  the  Royal  Gymnas- 
ium, after  which  the  father  again  betook 
himself  to  America.  This  second  venture 
proved  profitable  to  the  extent  that  he 
had  decided  to  stay  and  he  bade  his  fam- 
ily to  follow  him  across  the  Atlantic.  On 
the  7th  of  July  1863  Mrs.  Wertin  and  her 
four  children  arrived  in  New  York  and 


•  tions  to  study  for  the  Church  remained 
firm,  but  in  the  new  country  he  knew  not 
whither  to  turn.  In  this  perplexity 
Father  Cebul,  an  old  time  friend  of  his 
father's,  was  asked  for  counsel,  and  he 
advised  John  Vertin  to  affiliate  himself 
with  the  diocese  in  which  he  resided. 
Bishop  Baraga  gladly  accepted  his  ap- 
plication and  assigned  him  to  Father 
Cebul  for  instruction  in  philosophy,  Eng- 


264 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


lish  and  French,  because  most  of  the 
seminaries  were  still  unsettled  on  account 
of  the  raging  Civil  War.  In  September 
1863,  John  Vertin  took  up  his  residence 
in  Bayfield,  Wis.,  with  Father  Cebul,  and 
remained  under  his  tutorship  till  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  when  at  his  own  request 
he  was  sent  to  Negaunee,  to  Father  Bour- 
ion's,  in  order  to  perfect  himself  in  the 
French  language. 

We  reproduce  a  facsimile  letter  of 
Bishop  Baraga  to  Father  Bourion  touch- 
ing upon  the  above  arrangement.  It 
reads  in  translation  as  follows :  "Rev. 
Mr.  Bourion,  my  well  beloved  son.  One 
of  my  students,  named  John  Vertin,  who 
is  at  present  in  Bayfield  with  Rev.  Mr. 
Cebul,  desires  very  much  to  come  to  you 
for  two  months  in  order  to  perfect  him- 
self in  the  French  language,  which  he 
has  already  studied  a  little.  I  beg  of  you 
to  receive  him  and  assist  him  in  his 
French  studies.  You  will  render  a  great 
service  to  our  diocese.  I  believe  he  will 
be  a  good  priest. 

"May  the  good  God  bless  you  as  also 
your  good  mother  and  your  good  sister. 
"  Your   Father  in  J.   Ch., 

"Frederic  Baraga.1 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  John  Ver- 
tin entered  the  Salesianum  in  St.  Francis, 
Wis.  In  June  1865  Archbishop  Heiss 
conferred  upon  him  minor  orders  and 
Bishop  Baraga  ordained  him  a  priest, 
August  31,  1866.  The  first  priest  or- 
dained in  the  city  of  Marquette  and  the 
last  by  Bishop  Baraga. 

After  his  first  Mass  in  St.  Anne's 
church,  Hancock,  Father  Vertin  was  as- 
signed to  the  Houghton  parish.     His  first 


1  Letter,  dated  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Mich.,  April 
19,   1864.     Original   in  dioces.  Archives. 


baptism  recorded  there  is  that  of  John  S. 
Manderfield,  September  30,  1866.  The 
parish  was  in  a  much  neglected  condition, 
the  polyglot  elements  composing  the  con- 
gregation did  not  seem  to  harmonize  and 
by  their  race  squabbles  seriously  impeded 
its  progress.  The  church  was  small,  the 
original  one  put  up  by  Bishop  Baraga ; 
the  house  still  smaller,  purchased  to- 
gether with  the  lot  adjoining  the  church 
property  in  the  rear,  from  one  Murphy 
for  a  consideration  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars. Father  Vertin  set  himself  to  enlarge 
both.  The  church  he  extended  thirty  feet 
to  the  rear  with  a  wing  16x20  to  the 
ninth.  This  addition  he  connected  with 
the  old  house  and  used  the  first  floor  for 
living  rooms,  while  the  upstairs  he  util- 
ized as  a  sacristy.  In  1868  and  1869, 
besides  his  parish  with  a  scattered  popu- 
lation over  the  present  townships  of 
Portage,  Chassell,  Adams  and  Elm  River, 
lie  attended  to  the  Germans  and  French 
on  the  Hancock  side,  during  the  time 
Father  Jacker  resided  in  Marquette  as 
administrator  of  the  diocese. 

In  September  1871  Bishop  Mrak  called 
Father  Vertin  to  the  pastorate  of  St. 
Paul's  church  in  Negaunee.  The  parish 
was  encumbered  by  a  debt  of  over  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  had  but  a  small  house 
for  priest's  residence  at  No.  408  on  Case 
Street,  several  blocks  away  from  the  new 
church  and  the  times  least  favorable  to 
the  conditions,  on  account  of  the  prevail- 
ing depression  in  copper  and  iron  indus- 
tries. Still  Father  Vertin  proved  himself 
master  of  the  situation;  he  first  ascer- 
tained by  repeated  correspondence  with 
Father  Bourion  of  Central  City,  Colo- 
rado, the  exact  amount  and  to  whom  due 
and  then  set  out  to  make  with  the  credit- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


265 


ors  such  terms  as  were  obtainable.  He 
generally  found  them  well  disposed 
towards  the  church,  the  more  obdurate 
ones  he  paid  off  first  and  the  remainder 
he  tried  to  satisfy  by  occasional  payments 
as  he  was  able  to  raise  the  money  by  col- 
lections or  otherwise.  In  1874  he  had 
lowered  the  debt  to  such  a  point  as  to 
permit  him  to  think  of  building  for  him- 
self a  residence  nearer  the  church.  On 
Pioneer  Avenue  in  the  rear  of  the  church 
he  erected  a  handsome  building  at  the 
cost  of  five  thousand  dollars  and  reduced 
the  entire  debt,  including  the  payment  for 


Bishop  Mrak,  after  his  resignation, 
had  no  voice  in  selecting  his  successor; 
the  Bishops  of  the  Province  set  up  the  list 
of  three  candidates  and  forwarded  their 
names  to  Rome.  From  among  them  the 
Holy  Father  proclaimed  on  the  15th  of 
May,  1879  Rev.  John  Vertin  the  third 
bishop  of  Marquette.  News  of  his  ap- 
pointment reached  long  before  the  Apos- 
tolic Brief  arrived,  but  notwithstanding 
the  universal  satisfaction,  caused  by  the 
announcement.  Father  Vertin  was  loath 
to  accept.  "I  have  not  as  yet  made  up 
my   mind   to   accept   the   episcopal   onus 


THE   CITY   OF   TCHERNEMBL,   CARNIOLIA.    WHERE    BISHOP   VERTIN    FIRST    ATTENDED    SCHOOL.      THE 
BUILDING   TO  THE   LEFT    IS    MARKED    WITH    A   CROSS. 


his  house,  to  less  than  two  thousand  dol- 
lars in  seven  years.  This  was  a  record 
not  equaled  in  the  diocese  and  made 
Father  Vertin,  at  once,  prominent  in  the 
estimation  of  his  Bishop.  In  those  days, 
as  much  as  in  our  own,  it  was  required 
for  one  to  be  as  much  a  financier  as  a 
priest.  Father  Vertin  was  truly  both ; 
his  untainted  character,  learning,  piety 
and  zeal  combined  with  the  renown  for 
his  administrative  ability,  therefore, 
justly  signaled  him  for  the  high  office 
which  he  afterwards  attained. 


(burden)  on  my  weak  and  unworthy 
shoulders  and  if  I  must  tell  you  the  truth, 
I  am  at  present  more  inclined  not  to  ac- 
cept. The  diverse  difficulties  of  this  poor 
diocese  were  always  more  or  less  per- 
plexing, but  they  are  now  worse  than 
ever — consideratis  considerandis.  Nev- 
ertheless if  anything  moves  me  to  accept 
the  episcopate — fiat  voluntas  Dei !"  2 
That  he  was  long  deliberating  proves  the 
fact  that   his  consecration  was  deferred 


■  Letter   to  Fr.   Bourion,   May  28,    1879.     Ar- 
chives  Marq. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


until  September.  If  anybody,  so  the 
Jesuit  Fr.  Weninger,  is  mostly  responsi- 
ble that  Father  Vertin  finally  accepted  his 
appointment. 

The  Apostolic  Brief  is  in  translation  as 
follows : 

LEO  XIII.   POPE. 

Beloved  Son,  Health  and  Apostolic 
Benediction.  The  office  of  the  Apostolate, 
conferred  upon  Us,  not  through  our  own 
merits  from  on  High,  by  which  We  pre- 
side over  the  government  of  all  churches, 
by  Divine  Providence,  striving,  with  the 
help  of  the  Lord,  usefully  to  exercise, 
We  are  solicitous  in  Our  heart  and 
watchful,  that  when  there  is  a  question  of 
committing  the  government  of  churches, 
We  endeavor  to  give  them  such  pastors 
as  know  how  to  teach  people,  entrusted 
to  their  care,  not  only  by  word  of  doc- 
trine, but  also  by  the  example  of  good 
works,  and  are  desirous  and  capable,  un- 
der God,  healthfully  to  guide  and  happily 
to  govern,  the  churches  commissioned 
to  them,  in  peace  and  tranquillity.  Since 
We  have  reserved  the  pn  >vision  for  all 
churches,  that  are  or  shall  in  future  be 
vacant,  to  Our  own  appointment  and  pro- 
vision and  declared  thenceforth  null  and 
inane  all  efforts  to  the  contrary,  no  mat- 
ter by  what  authority,  whether  know- 
ingly or  unknowingly  made.  The 
episcopal  church  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and 
Marquette,  in  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  presided  over  lastly  by  the 
Venerable  Brother  Ignatius  Mrak,  being 
deprived  of  a  pastor,  upon  the  voluntary 
renunciation  of  the  aforesaid  Venerable 
Brother,  that  it  may  not  suffer  long 
under  the  inconvenience  of  a  vacancy, 
being  desirous  with  paternal  and  solocit- 
ous  interest  to  make  a  quick  and  happy 


provision,  in  which  no  one,  outside  of 
Us,  can  now  or  shall  in  future  interpose 
by  decree  or  reservation  contrary  to  the 
above,  with  paternal  interest  and  solici- 
tude, after  a  diligent  deliberation,  which 
We  have  had,  about  placing  at  the  head 
of  same  church  a  useful  and  fruitful  per- 
son, with  Our  Venerable  Brothers  the 
Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  in 
charge  of  the  Propagation  of  Faith,  We 
turned  Our  mind  to  you,  who,  born  of 
lawful  wedlock,  and  are  of  lawful  age 
and  whose  integrity  of  life,  blameless 
morals  and  the  merits  of  learning  as  well 
as  the  skill  and  practical  knowledge  of 
managing  affairs  more  than  usual,  docu- 
ments, with  Us  on  file,  so  splendidly 
prove.  Having  all  well  considered  this, 
We  absolve  you  and  hold  you  absolved 
in  so  far  as  this  matter  is  concerned, 
from  whatsoever  excommunication,  in- 
terdict and  other  ecclesiastical  sentences, 
censures  and  punishments,  no  matter 
what  way  or  for  what  reason  pronounced, 
if  you  have  perhaps  incurred  any,  in  vir- 
tue of  Our  Apostolic  Authority,  with  the 
advice  of  the  same  Brothers,  by  these 
presents,  We  make  provision  for  said 
episcopal  church  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and 
Marquette,  in  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  in  your  person,  which  is  accept- 
able to  Us  and  the  above  mentioned 
Cardinals  on  account  of  the  excellence 
of  your  merits.  We  appoint  you  its  bishop 
and  pastor,  fully  committing  to  you  the 
care,  rule  and  administration  of  that 
church  in  spirituals  and  temporals,  trust- 
ing in  Him  who  bestoweth  graces  and 
gifts,  that  said  church,  the  Lord  guiding 
your  actions,  will  prosper  as  well  in 
spirituals  as  in  temporals  by  your  watch- 
ful diligence  and  studiousness,  that  it  will 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


267 


be  directed  unto  usefulness  and  prosper- 
ity, and  that  it  will  speedily  advance  in 
spirituals  as  well  as  in  temporals.  Ac- 
cepting with  prompt  devotion  the  burden 
placed  upon  your  shoulders  you  will 
faithfully  undertake  the  care  and  admin- 
istration, and  with  prudence  exercise 
them,  that  the  aforesaid  church  may  truly 
rejoice  in  a  prudent  ruler  and  adminis- 


choose,  in  favor  and  communion  with  the 
Aspostolic  See,  inviting  two  other  bishops 
to  act  as  his  assistants,  or  if  they  cannot 
conveniently  be  had,  in  their  stead  two 
priests,  in  ecclesiastical  dignity,  enjoying 
like  favor  and  communion;  and  We 
grant  the  same  Prelate  the  faculty  in  like 
manner  lawfully*to  bestow  upon  you  the 
aforesaid  gift  of  consecration  with  Our 


Jo,./  ofte    -^ 


aAU , 


yJiu.,  6/4  j&uS/s/*. 


rfk,  jf*  /fcu^. 


i*.tu.     tC&  &**  •  a.<~t- 


I'CH.i      U*     v^     fi*~      /*■*     »*".     p«*      *  f».^<&~<"       <f«*    &  Jr^c^        ft.',?* 


Ci^L     C    Af->*4&4        J&tW     -7*^ 


.:.-..■     /a  'J  A-1*       "»      "»       A«*&« 


/* 


/■ 


FACSIMILE    OF    BISHOP    BARAGA'S    LETTER    SENDING    YOUNG    JOHN    VERTIN    TO    FATHER    BOURION 

TO  LEARN   FRENCH. 


trator  and  that  besides  the  eternal  retri- 
bution you  henceforth  fully  merit  Our 
favor  and  blessing  and  that  of  the 
Apostolic  See.  As  fer  the  rest,  looking 
with  favor  upon  your  convenience  We 
impart  to  you  the  faculty  to  receive  law- 
fully and  validly  the  gift  of  consecration 
from  any  Catholic  Prelate  whom  you  may 


Apostolic  Authority,  after  having  first 
received  from  you  the  profession  of  Faith 
according  to  the  articles  proposed  by  the 
Holy  See  and  the  usual  oath  of  fidelity 
in  Our  name  and  that  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church.  We  will  and  decree,  however, 
that  if  without  having  first  received  from 
you  this  oath  and  the  profession  of  faith 


268 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


the  above  Prelate  presumes  to  bestow 
upon  you  the  gift  of  consecration  and  you 
to  receive  it,  the  same  Prelate  as  well  as 
you,  by  the  very  fact  be  suspended  from 
the  pontifical  office  and  from  the  govern- 
ment and  administration  of  your 
churches.  Notwithstanding  the  apostolic, 
or  in  universal,  provincial  and  synodal 
councils  enacted  general  or  special  con- 
stitutions and  ordinances  as  well  as  those 
of  the  said  church  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
and  Marquette  even  though  binding 
under  oath  by  apostolic  approval  or  any 
other  firmity,  statutes  or  customs  and  any 
other  whatsoever  to  the  contrary.  Given 
at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  under  the  ring  of 
the  Fisherman  the  1 6th  day  of  May, 
1879.  Of  Our  Pontificate  the  second 
year. 

For  the  Lord  Card.  Carafa  de  Traetto 
D.  Jacobini.  Subst. 
The  consecration  was  set  for  the  14th 
of  September,  the  feast  of  the  Exaltation 
of  the  Cross  in  the  church  of  St.  Paul 
in  Xegaunee.  An  episcopal  consecration 
had  never  before  taken  place  in  Upper 
Peninsula  and  the  event  awakened  un- 
usual interest.  Preparations  were  in 
progress  a  long  time;  the  church  was 
thoroughly  overhauled  inside,  around 
the  residence  there  was  a  hum  of  excite- 
ment arranging  for  the  proper  accommo- 
dation of  the  distinguished  guests,  and  in 
the  town,  to  which  fell  the  honor  of  the 
first  episcopal  consecration  in  the  Upper 
Peninsula,  everybody,  without  distinction 
of  creed,  and  was  contributing  towards  a 
suitable  reception  of  the  high  visitors  and 
their  entertainment  while  in  town.  By 
the  middle  of  the  week,  the  14th  being  a 
Sunday,  many  priests,  intimate  friends  of 
the   Bishop-elect,   had   arrived  and   their 


number  kept  increasing  until  Saturday, 
when  the  Bishops  and  their  suits  arrived. 
They  were  met  at  the  Northwestern  de- 
pot by  the  committee  on  reception  and 
conveyed  in  carriages  to  the  parochial 
residence,  where  accommodations  were 
provided  for  the  bishops  and  as  many  of 
the  visiting  priests  as  could  find  room, 
others  finding  hospitality  among  the 
prominent  families  of  the  parish  and 
city,  the  diocesan  clergy  took  pos- 
session of  "la  tuilerie,"  so  nicknamed, 
the  garret.  The  following  bishops 
and  priests  assembled:  Rt.  Rev. 
Michael  Heiss,  Bishop  of  La  Crosse, 
Wis. ;  Rt.  Rev.  Caspard  Borgess,  Bishop 
of  Detroit;  Rt.  Rev.  L.  J.  Spalding,  Bish- 
op of  Peoria :  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  X.  Kraut- 
bauer,  Bishop  of  Green  Bay;  Rt.  Rev. 
John  Ireland,  Coadjutor-Bishop  of  St. 
Paul;  Rt.  Rev.  Rupert  Seidenbusch, 
Bishop  of  St.  Cloud ;  Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius 
Mrak,  Titular-Bishop  of  Antinoe ;  Rt. 
Rev.  Alexius  Edelbrock,  Abbot  of  St. 
John's,  Minn.-;  Revs.  L  Batz,  of  Milwau- 
kee; E.  Joos,  of  Detroit;  Severin  Gross,  of 
St.  Cloud;  P.  M.  Abbelen  of  Milwaukee; 
F.  X.  Weninger,  S.  J.,  of  Cincinnati;  F. 
X.  Katzer  of  Green  Bay ;  Father  Maurit- 
ius, O.  M.  C,  of  Calvary.  Wis. ;  Andrew 
Andolschek,  Morrison,  Wis. ;  Antoine 
Vermare,  Oconto,  Wis. ;  J.  M.  Flamming, 
of  St.  Donatus,  Iowa;  Joseph  Cotter, 
Winona,  Minn. ;  J.  X.  Stariha,  of  Red 
Wing,  Minn. ;  J.  2uzek,  of  Caledonia. 
Minn. ;  F.  Kalvelage,  of  Chicago.  Of 
diocesan  priests  were  present  the  Revs 
Fox,  Terhorst,  Langner,  Dwyer,  Hubly, 
Rousseau,  Pawlar,  Roy,  Kelly,  Paganini 
and  Kenny. 

Sunday  morning,  the  day  of  consecra- 
tion, dawned  bright,  clear  and  warm,  giv- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


269 


ing  promise  of  a  beautiful  day,  which 
realized  to  the  fullest  expectation  of  all. 
Early  in  the  morning  people  were  com- 
ing into  the  city  from  every  direction,  in 
every  style  of  conveyance  and  on  foot; 
and  by  nine  o'clock  the  streets  were  alive 
with  people.  Half  an  hour  later  the  train 
from  Marquette  arrived  with  three 
coaches  crowded  with  passengers,  who, 
with  those  already  in  the  church,  filled 
the  available  sitting  capacity.  By  ten 
o'clock  the  trains  from  Escanaba  and 
L'Anse  brought  in  a  multitude  of  people 
who  literally  packed  the  otherwise  spaci- 
ous edifice  so  that  the  aisles,  but  for  a 
narrow  space  left  for  the  procession,  were 
wedged  with  men  and  women  from  the 
edge  of  the  sanctuary  back  to  the  door 
and  out  on  the  platform.  At  ten  o'clock 
the  St.  Patrick's  Society  arrived  at  the 
church  in  procession,  headed  by  their 
band  and  shortly  after  the  procession  of 
the  Clergy  started  from  the  residence. 
The  empty  space  in  the  middle  aisle  filled 
up  as  fast  as  the  last  bishop  passed  in 
towards  the  sanctuary,  many  crowded 
around  the  church  entrance  satisfied  to 
stay  there  and  hundreds  went  away,  not 
being  able  to  get  even  near  the  door.  The 
church  was  tastefully  decorated  with 
evergreen  festoons  and  a  profusion  of 
flowers. 

In  the  absence  of  Archbishop  Henni, 
on  account  of  his  advanced  age,  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  Bishop  of  La  Crosse, 
was  consecrator  and  was  assisted  by  Bish- 
op Borgess  of  Detroit  and  Bishop  Spald- 
ing of  Peoria. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  act  of  conse- 
cration, the  gospel  was  read  and  Bishop 
Ireland  ascended  the  pulpit,  delivering 
a  sermon  in  English  in  which  he  dwelt 


long  and  eloquently  upon  the  importance 
of  the  occasion,  impressing  the  faithful 
with  the  power  imparted  through  the 
consecration,  exhorting  them  to  remain 
true  to  their  new  bishop  and,  finally,  he 
concluded  with  a  high  tribute  to  the  new 
bishop  which  touched  the  hearts  of  all 
present. 

The   formal   inthronization   was   made 


MR.     JOSEPH     WERTIN,     SR.,     FATHER     OF     BISHOP 
VERTIN. 

just  before  the  conclusion  of  the  long 
ceremonies.  In  the  aisle  room  had  to  be 
made  before  he  could  pass  down  impart- 
ing his  first  episcopal  blessing.  Then  for 
the  first  time  his  stately  figure,  clad  in 
brilliant  pontifical  robes  and  mitre,  ap- 
peared at  the  main  altar  and  the  "Sit 
nomen  Domini  benedictum"  rang  out  in 
his    beautiful    tenor    which    thrilled    the 


270 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


hearts  of  all  present.  This  concluded  the 
ceremonies  which  had  lasted  just  four 
hours,  being  two  o'clock  when  the  clergy 
left  the  sacred  edifice.  In  the  evening  at 
Vespers,  Bishop  Spalding  preached. 

Of  the  consecration  the  three  conse- 
crating bishops  have  made,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  Breve,  the  following  attest : 

"I,  the   undersigned,  have   consecrated 
and  promoted  to  the  Episcopate  the  Rt. 
Rev.  John  Vertin,  in  the  city  of  Negau- 
nee,  the  14th  day  of  September,  1S79. 
•!•  Michael   Heiss, 
Bp.  of  La  Crosse. 
Under  assistance  of  two  bishops. 
>}•  Caspar  Borgess, 
Bp.  of  Detroit. 
>%•].  L.  Spalding, 

Bp.  of  Peoria." 
The  Mining  Journal  of  September  20, 
1879,  from  which  we  have  taken  the  most 
of  the  above  information,  concludes  the 
article  of  Bishop  Vertin's  consecration  in 
the  following  words:  "Bishop  Vertin  is 
thirty  five  years  old — the  youngest  bishop 
in  North  America.  He  is  a  fine  appear- 
ing gentleman,  being  tall  and  straight 
and  one  of  the  most  pleasing,  kindliest  of 
men.  During  his  eight  years'  residence 
in  this  city,  as  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  church, 
he  has  endeared  himself  not  only  to  his 
congregation,  but  to  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  As  a  consequence,  he' 
leaves  a  large  circle  of  friends  here,  who, 
however  pleased  with  his  promotion,  are 
loath  to  see  him  change  his  residence 
from  Negaunee. 

"A  general  invitation  was  extended  by 
the  parish  to  parties  of  all  denominations  • 
to  attend  and  witness  the  ceremonies  and 
most  of  the  people  who  filled  the  church 
were  others  than  those  of  the   Catholic 


Faith.  The  Reverend  gentleman's  bearing 
was  gracefully  dignified  during  the  entire 
ceremony,  eliciting  many  favorable  re- 
marks from  those  present. 

"The  clear  and  powerful  voice  of  the 
Consecrator  and  the  full  and  musical 
sound  of  the  new  bishop's  words,  as  he 
spoke  or  chanted  his  part  of  the  service, 
the  impressive  appearance  of  the  sanctu- 
ary filled  with  high  church  officials  in 
their  appropriate  and  beautiful  robes 
held  the  assembled  spell-bound  from  the 
first  to  last.  The  singing  by  the  choir 
and  the  music  of  the  orchestra  accom- 
panying it  was  the  finest  ever  heard  in 
this  church  and  was  a  fitting  accompani- 
ment to  the  most  impressive  ceremony." 
After  his  consecration,  Bishop  Vertin  re- 
mained in  Xegaunee  almost  three  weeks 
chiefly  to  arrange  parochial  matters  of 
his  parish  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  to  make 
such  changes  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
Cathedral  as  he  deemed  necessary.  Father 
Kenny,  the  incumbent,  appears  to  have 
been  a  persona  non  grata  and  was  ordered 
to  Mackinac  Island,  which  act  stirred  up 
a  great  party  feeling  in  the  Cathedral 
congregation  at  Marquette,  but  the 
Bishop  remained  inflexible.  He  intended 
to  come  to  Marquette  for  Sunday  Octo- 
ber 5th;  on  Thursday  October  2nd,  how- 
ever, his  Cathedral  was  only  a  heap  of 
ashes.  The  Mining  Journal  of  October 
4th,  says :  "About  four  o'clock  Thursday 
morning  the  people  were  aroused  from 
their  slumber  by  a  loud  alarm  of  fire 
and  on  leaving  their  houses  discovered 
that  a  fire  was  raging  in  the  vicinity  of 
St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  the  flames  having 
already  made  sufficient  headway  to  cast 
a  lurid  glare  over  the  whole  city.  It  was 
soon  found  that  the  flames  were  from  the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


271 


Cathedral  itself,  corner  of  Superior  and 
Fourth  Sts.,  and  then  the  alarm  was 
given  as  soon  as  the  flames  were  discov- 
ered by  the  switchman  at  the  railroad 
crossing.  Before  the  firemen  could  reach 
the  scene  the  fire  had  made  such  progress 
as  to  render  the  saving  of  the  edifice, 
which  was  a  large  wooden  structure,  ut- 
terly impossible.  The  fire  apparently 
commenced  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  building  and  was  burning  against  the 
wind  which  was  from  the  south  and  by 
the  time  the  first  stream  was  brought  to 
play  upon  it,  the  whole  west  side,  and  the 
larger  part  of  the  roof,  were  in  flames. 
With  six  streams,  from  as  many  different 
lines  of  hose,  it  was  all  the  firemen  could 
do  to  confine  the  fire  to  the  church,  and 
thus  saved  adjoining  property,  and  even 
then  the  bishop's  house  would  have  had 
a  close  call,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  wind 
was  favorable.  The  air  was  filled  with 
sparks  and  burning  embers  from  the 
burning  building,  and  but  for  the  damp 
weather  of  the  past  few  days,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  we  should  now  have  a 
much  more  serious  conflagration  to  re- 
cord. When  the  flames  had  mounted  to 
the  tall  spire  the  scene  was  terribly  grand, 
and  when  it  fell  with  a  crash  all  hope  of 
saving  any  part  of  the  building  was  aban- 
doned. Very  few  of  the  ornaments  or 
embellishments  were  saved,  and  the  build- 
ing and  contents  may  be  set  down  as  a 
total  loss.  St.  Peter's  Cathedral  was  built 
in  1864  under  the  auspices  of  the  vener- 
able Bishop  Baraga  whose  sacred  remains 
were  afterwards  deposited  in  the  vault  be- 
neath its  altar.  It  practically  cost  at  the 
time  three  times  as  much  as  a  similar 
building  could  be  erected  for  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  of  course,  will  be  rebuilt, 


most  probably  on  a  larger  and  grander 
scale. 

The  fire  was  undoubtedly  the  work 
of  an  incendiary,  though  what  could  have 
been  the  motive  which  prompted  the  das- 
tardly scoundrel  or  scoundrels,  it  is  diffi- 
cult even  to  mention.  It  is  sincerely  to 
be  hoped  that  the  guilty  party  or  parties 
may  be  discovered,  and  the  fullest  penalty 
of  the  law  be  meted  out  to  them. 


MRS.    MARY    WERTIN,    MOTHER   Or    BISHOP   VERTIN. 

Immediately  upon  learning  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  Cathedral  Rev.  E.  E. 
Bishop,  on  behalf  of  the  St.  Paul's 
Church  tendered  to  the  Catholic  Society 
the  free  use  of  the  unused  church  on 
Ridge  St.  West,  which  offer,  we  under- 
stand, will,  with  the  consent  of  Bishop 
Vertin,  be  accepted.    Father  Kenny,  the 


272 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Pastor  gives  notice  of  service  for  tomor- 
row in  another  place  in  this  paper." 

Father  Kenny  published  the  following 
notice:  "The  members  of  the  Catholic 
Congregation  will  have  Mass  at  the 
French  Church  on  Washington  St.,  to- 
morrow (Sunday).  First  Mass  at  eight 
o'clock;  the  late  Mass  at  10:30;  vespers 
at  7:15  P.  M. ;  Boys  of  the  Sunday 
School  Catechism  class  will  attend  with 
their  teachers  at  the  school  rooms  in  the 
Orphan  Asylum  at  two  o'clock ;  The  girls 
at  the  Convent  School  rooms. 

Father  Kenney." 

In  consequence  of  the  ungraceful  cala- 
mity Bishop  Vertin  remained  in  Ne- 
gaunee  and  directed  the  disentanglement 
of  affairs  from  there.  He  declined  the 
kind  offer  of  the  Episcopalians  with  grati- 
tude and  ordered  services  for  the  cathe- 
dral congregation  to  be  held  in  the 
French  Church. 

"The  Catholic  Congregation  will  have 
Mass  in  the  French  Church  tomorrow  as 
follows:  First  Mass  at  7:30  and  late 
Mass  at  9  o'clock. 

By  order  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Ver- 
tin. 

J.  C.  Kenny."3 

On  Sunday,  October  12th,  Father  J. 
C.  Kenny  officiated  in  Marquette  for  the 
last  time  and  in  obedience  to  the  order  of 
the  Bishop  was  preparing  to  leave  the 
city  on  the  following  day.  The  Mining 
Journal  gives  the  following  account  of 
his  departure:  "Marquette  was  the  scene 
of  considerable  excitement  on  Monday 
last,  occasioned  by  the  proposed  depar- 
ture of  Rev.  Father  Kenny  for  Mackinac 
to  which  place  he  had  been  assigned  by 


3  Mining  Journal,  Oct.  II,  1879.     Peter  White 
Lib.  Marq. 


the  Bishop.     A  large  portion  of  his  con- 
gregation  was   opposed   to   his   removal 
and  particularly  so  were  the  Irish  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  who  were  devotedly 
attached  to  the  good  priest  and  they  were 
seemingly  determined  to  do  everything  in 
their  power  to  prevent  the  removal.     Ac- 
cordingly, when,  about  noon  of  the  day 
named,   his   personal   effects   were   being 
taken  to  the  dock,  the  dray  upon  which 
they  were  being  carried  was  over-hauled 
at  the  corner  of  Lake  and  Superior  Sts. 
by  a  number  of  his  devoted  admirers  and 
in   a   jiffy   his   goods   were    replaced   on 
another  vehicle  and  carted  away  to  some 
place  of  safety.     Immediately  after  din- 
ner, the  good  Father,  while  on  his  way 
down  Main  St.  to  the  Steamer  Peerless, 
was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  Irish  citi- 
zens who  used  every  persuasion  to  induce 
him  to  remain,  notwithstanding  the  order 
of  the  Bishop,  but  he  finally  made  his  way 
to   the   dock,   where   he   was   plied   with 
more  persuasions,  which  resulted  in  his 
retracing  his  steps    up  town  to  the  office 
of   S.    E.    Byrne,   Esq.,   where  the   Irish 
citizens  held  a  meeting,  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  wait  on  Bishop  Vertin  at 
Xegaunee,   for  the  purpose  of  inducing 
him  to  revoke  the  order  removing  Father 
Kenny  from  Marquette  to  Mackinac,  and 
shortly   afterwards   a   telegram    was   re- 
ceived  from  the  committee  stating  that 
the  Bishop  positively  declines  to  revoke 
his  order  and  thereupon  the  good  Father 
was  escorted  to  the  boat  by  a  few  of  his 
friends,  the  others,  after  an  affectionate 
leave-taking   quietly   dispersed.      Of   the 
merits   or   demerits   of   the   controversy, 
the  Mining  Journal  does  not  venture  to 
express   any   opinion,    however,    it    most 
heartily  joins  in  the  most  general  regret 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


273 


felt  over  the  departure  of  the  Rev.  Fath-  sire  to  remain  with  them,  for  a  moment 

er.  who.  it  believes,  was  the  choice  of  the  tempted  him  to  set  at  defiance  the  orders 

large   majority   of   the   members   of   the  of  the  Bishop.     Nor  can  it  be  said  that 

church  and  who  certainly  occupied  a  high  the  request  from  all  his  devoted  friends 

place  in  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  a  to  prevent  his  departure,  was  other  than 


BISHOP  VKRTIN    AT   THE  TIME   UK    HIS   CONSECRATION. 


majority  of  the  members  of  other  denom-  creditable   to    them — especially    so,    con- 

inations.     It  was  a  trying  ordeal  for  him,  sidering    that,    though    greatly    excited, 

but  it  does  not  appear  that  his  affection  they  at  last  quietly  submitted  to  the  final 

for  his  people,  and  his  very  evident  de-  order  of  the  Bishop.     And  whenever  he 


274 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


may  go.  Father  Kenny  will  carry  with 
him  the  best  wishes  of  the  majority  of 
the  people  of  Marquette."  4 

In  place  of  Father  Kenny.  Father 
Rousseau,  a  gentleman  of  fine  accom- 
plishments and  agreeable  manners,  was 
appointed.  On  October  19th,  Bishop 
Vertin  appeared  in  person  in  Marquette 
and  at  Highmass,  in  the  French  church, 
made  his  position,  in  regard  to  the  recent 
troubles,  plain,  giving  all  concerned  to 
understand  that  the  laws  of  the  Church, 
must  be  obeyed  at  all  hazards.  The  ani- 
mosity had  taken  however,  too  deep  root 
to  be  quickly  allayed.  The  followers  of 
Father  Kenny  still  clung  to  him  consid- 
ering him  as  their  'non-resident  pastor.' 
They  contributed  monthly  to  what  they 
called  a  salary  and  before  the  winter  pre- 
cluded navigation,  large  shipments  of 
food  and  clothing  were  made  to  him. 
Bishop  Vertin  looked  upon  all  these 
manifestations  of  racial  bigotry  in  a 
spirit  of  Christian  forbearance,  and  did 
not  take  any  steps  to  punish  the  offenders 
against  the  ecclesiastical  discipline ;  he 
only  made  the  burning-down  of  his  Cath- 
edral a  case  reserved  to  himself  for  abso- 
lution. 

Bishop  Vertin  received  from  his  pre- 
decessor twenty  eight  churches,  eighteen 
priests  and  a  population  of  not  more  than 
twenty  thousand.  His  first  attention  he 
lent  to  the  regulating  of  priests'  salaries 
He  held  that  no  mission  shall  be  entitled 
to  a  stationary  pastor  until  they  are  able 
to  pay  his  salary  which  he  stipulated  at 
seven  hundred  dollars,  at  first,  but  after- 
wards raised  it  to  eight  hundred  on  ac- 
count of  the  high  prices  of  living  com- 
modities.    At  the  same  time  he  levied,  by 

'  Oct.  18,  1879.     Peter  White.    Lib.  Marq. 


permission  from  Rome,  a  tax  of  ten  per- 
cent of  the  ordinary  income  of  each  con- 
gregation, for  Cathedraticum,  his  own 
support,  and  the  building  of  the  new 
Cathedral.  It  goes  without  a  doubt  that 
in  the  first  years  of  his  episcopate  Bishop 
Vertin  received  his  living  from  his 
wealthy  parents  and  converted  his  whole 
Cathedraticum  for  the  building  of  the 
Cathedral. 

The  old  St.  Peter's  Cathedral  was  very 
poorly  constructed  so  that  on  real  cold 
winter  days,  it  was  simply  impossible  to 
heat  it,  no  matter  how  much  fuel  was 
sacrificed,  hence,  it  would  have  been  only 
a  question  of  but  a  short  time  when  a 
more  dignified  building  would  have  been 
required,  but  since  some  individual  made 
a  bon  fire  of  the  old  church  in  honor  of 
Bishop  Vertin's  arrival,  the  good  Bishop 
saw  no  other  remedy  in  the  matter  than 
to  build  himself  a  new  one  at  once.  For 
those  who  had  not  been  inoculated  by 
Kenny-gitis  and  all  who  would  come, 
there  were  two  Masses  read  on  Sundays 
in  the  French  church  which  had  become. 
at  the  same  time,  the  pro-Cathedral.  On 
May  19,  1880,  Bishop  Vertin  held  his 
first  ordination  in  that  church  raising 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Atfield  to  priesthood. 
On  week  days  Mass  was  celebrated  in  the 
basement  of  the  bishop's  house  where  the 
south  half  had  been  fitted  up  into  a  com- 
modious chapel. 

For  the  sake  of  the  observance  of  gen- 
eral laws  of  the  Church  and  of  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  people  the  Bishop 
made,  under  February  4,  1880,  some  im- 
portant rulings : 

"On  days,  during  the  Lenten  season, 
on  which  the  faithful  are  allowed  the  use 
of  meat  but  once  a  day,  I  herewith  dis- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


275 


© 

— 


1 


iiiiJiiitfffi  iiiJi  pi 


V  ^iw       \      ^»      S      **» 


•5    .  *  V»  ;N 

^  ^^  *-*sS^  s"^.\s 

.ill  I  o^toi^f  H^ 3^ 


1 1  *k$  I  ^ 


llttl-M 


*kS 


<^Hi 


i .?  |  -^ 


■NT  ■   NS 

$■  *■$  * -is  4-1*  e^  I  s 

|fe  1 


riiHMl  lilt SUM* 


*r 


IS 


8  ' 


« 


s« 


m 


Li  1  -5 


- 1  3^  1 1I 41 1  *  4  1  h  1  .t  s  a  1  ^ 


\ 
^ 

&, 


a 


2  < 

h  u 

a:  w 

>  Z 


X  xn 

5,5 


o  o 

2  w 

S  H 

O  H 

(Li  < 


n 


s 


J. 


^ 


■I' 


« 


41 


I 


•\« 


^4^1! 


i 

1  ii."  N^1«4  t  ||-4 1 *i ., 

^*«**  *l*  «1I4?|  i  i  ill  \i 


%^ 


'5  i  t? 


i 


ti^l  Ifll^ 


Ryu. 


276 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


pense  with  those  who  are  working  out- 
doors in  the  cold  air  or  at  any  hard  man- 
ual labor  and  permit  them  the  use  of  it 
more  than  once  a  day  according  to  their 
own  disposition  and  devotion. 

"Any  and  all  parties,  under  my  juris- 
diction, who  are  living  a  life  of  public 
concubinage,  if  they  do  not  separate  im- 
mediately upon  hearing  this  sentence  pro- 
nounced, are  excommunicated  from  the 
Church. 

'Where  parties,  both  being  Catholics, 
have  been  married  outside  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  have  not  yet  had  their  mar- 
riage-contract blessed,  if  they  shall  not 
persent  themselves  between  the  time  this 
comes  to  their  knowledge  and  the  expira- 
tion of  the  following  Easter  time,  to  have 
their  marriage  blessed,  on  condition  that 
they  perform  extra  salutary  penance, 
they  are  excommunicated. 

"Whosoever,  both  parties  being  Cath- 
olic, shall  henceforth  be  married  outside 
the  Catholic  Church,  shall  also  be  excom- 
municated ipso  facto. 

"The  publication  of  intended  marriage 
must  be  made  in  the  parish  church  on 
three  consecutive  Sundays ;  in  the  mean- 
time the  contracting  parties  must  present 
themselves  for  examination  in  Christian 
doctrine,  to  the  local  rector  of  the  mis- 
sion. The  rector  may  dispense,  for  im- 
portant reasons,  from  one  publication, 
otherwise  the  Ordinary  must  be  asked 
in  due  form  and  in  writing  for  any  de- 
sired dispensation  from  calls.  In  case 
dispensations  are  obtained  under  false 
pretext — in  fraudem  legis — parties  so  de- 
frauding are  liable  to  the  censures  of  the 
Church,  ferendae  sententiae. 

"In  places,  where  missionaries  do  not 
reside,  or  are  not  visited  every  Sunday. 


and  where  people  shall  hear  this  law  pro- 
mulgated, the  local  missionary  may  dis- 
pense from  two  publications. 

"Let  all  marriages  be  contracted  in 
the  morning  with  Nuptial  Mass,  that 
they  may  receive  the  fullness  of  blessing 
from  God  and  the  Church. 

"Let  all  funerals  of  adult  Catholics, 
likewise,  take  place  in  the  morning,  and 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  be  offered  for  the  de- 
parted Soul." 


RT.    REV.    CASPER    EORCESS. 


These  ordinances  betray  the  woeful 
want  of  them  and  that  this  discipline  was 
timely. 

At  the  same  time  the  Bishop  addressed 
to  his  Clergy  and  the  Laity  his  first  Len- 
ten Pastoral.  It  vibrates,  like  the  wires 
after  the  passing  storm,  from  the  occur- 
rences of  preceding  months : 

"The  approaching  Lent,  writes  the 
Bishop,  is  an  appropriate  occasion  for  us 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


277 


>  ¥.  > 

U,~Zc±z.  5 

U  >  u 

-ZE  d 

-    .  "Ci 

t~       n 

*!*<*£ 

z  , 

K."          -     "* 

-d     ■- 

•  >  0 

•3  •  w 

Cti   t    ■ 

tC  cj     . 

<^fc£n  >o£  3 

.    ■ 

"\*g 

y 

uCQ— , 

H  --   - 

'3  - 

>  5    .J. 

>sr- 

"  rt"Z 

.       > 

5™ 

N->c2  . 

,n'D   ^ 

c  ^     0 

■°    S 

'    ^1     . 

rt     -  "i    : 

g  £  a!    :      2  3 

nj          . 

-  rt  ri 

S  -'  b 

5;  ca-^ 

fa  l:  . 

~.~~> 

10           <u 

DC.. 

aj 

r       C   >    J 

oj  L'  a*1 — 1 

r*  cO  o< 

b:.Sw  . 

c       > 

_  -  u 

f,---i 

Z"  ~<* 

><i 

M    > 

1>S  s 

■     .       to 

M   fer     "* 

r"  "  ri  ,• 

E8>« 

K^>  .~ 

H   .  2 

"3  >  3 

>        -O 

-u         CJ 

V    .  -  „ 

SjOHaJ^.- 

*ife 

5   .   ."(3 

<*5  -  j; 

fa:> 

«mc5 

K"|^ 

o\-- 

— >.£  BQ 

.32 

*?  ^    L-    >    rt  N 

2a;  £  £  c^  3 
«.««  0  ... 
I  %  «  a  £  I 

u.  ,'  -a  F 
^  -  -  c     ^,  S 


>.-0 


a  %  j  f  : 


.3  5; 


^6-£| 


278 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


to  address  you  briefly,  in  words  of  fath- 
erly love,  having  your  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal good  and  not  less  the  temporal,  as 
much  as  it  is  consistent  with  your  eternal 
welfare,  constantly  before  our  eyes,  re- 
membering you  daily  at  the  holy  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass. 

"Let  us  then  before  all  enter  into  our- 
selves, and  in  the  bitterness  of  our  soul, 
deplore,  during  these  days  of  penitential 
season,  our  past  trespasses  in  spirit  and 
according  to  the  teachings  of  our  Holy 
Mother  the  Church,  that  when  again  re- 
stored to  the  graces  of  God,  we  may  walk 
cautiously  in  the  future,  not  as  unwise, 
but  as  wise,  redeeming  the  lost  time  of 
the  past  by  doing  good  work,  particu- 
larly by  means  which  we  have  set  to  our- 
selves to  indicate  by  this  Pastoral: 

"Remember  that  the  days  are  evil  and 
that  we  are  fast  approaching  our  final 
dissolution,  after  which  shall  follow  the 
Judgment  of  God,  asking  a  strict  account 
of  our  stewardship,  which  will  accord- 
ingly decide  our  future  destiny — either 
eternal  happiness  or  misery.  First  of  all, 
Catholic  parents,  bring  up  your  children 
in  the  fear  of  God.  Take  good  care  that 
your  own  homes  are  the  living  examples 
of  Christian  life  to  your  little  ones; 
where  there  is  a  Catholic  school,  send 
your  children  there  for  instruction,  and 
where  there  is  none,  provide  for  their 
religious  education  at  home,  as  well  as  in 
the  church,  and  make  sure  that  they  are 


these  independent  evil  days.  When  faith 
burns  brightly  in  the  heart,  this  loyalty 
is  never  wanting.  Disloyalty  indicates  a 
dying  out  of  faith,  and  often  precedes 
its  total  loss.  Disloyalty  is  seen  in  the 
readiness  with  which  half-Catholics — 
those  breeders  of  mischief,  the  soreheads 
of  a  parish — take  up  and  report  any- 
thing, whether  right  or  wrong,  said 
against  their  pastor,  as  the  basis  of  their 


MAURICE    HENNS,    O.M.    CAP.    DIED    AT    MAR- 
QUETTE,  OCT.    13,    l88l. 


machinations,  put  an  evil  interpretation 
on  his  acts,  misconstrue  his  motives  and 
duly  preparing  for  a  worthy  reception  of  seem  happy  in  relating  to  friend  and  foe 
the  Holy  Sacraments,  and  take  good  care  injurious  insinuations,  as  well  as  direct 
that  what  they  have  thus  learned  in  their  slander  and  calumny.  In  all  this  there  is 
youth,  they  continue  to  practice  in  their  proof  of  want  of  love  and  even  of  ordi- 
after  years.  nary  respect  for  their  greatest  benefactor 

"Loyalty  to  the  church  and  priest  is  a     — the  pastor  of  their   immortal   souls — 
topic  of  great  interest  and  importance  in     who,  while  he  condescends  to  the  weak- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


279 


ness  of  his  parishioners  and  humors  their 
notions  of  right  and  wrong,  is  acceptable 
to  them;  when,  as  in  duty  bound,  he  op- 
poses their  mistaken  and  erroneous  ways 
of  thinking  and  acting  in  matters  of 
Catholic  faith  and  morals,  this  spirit  of 
disloyalty  appears.  They  then  forget 
that  the  priest  is  the  annointed  minister 
of  sacred  things ;  that  he  stands  at  the 
altar  to  offer  up,  in  an  unbloody  manner, 
the  awful  sacrifice  of  Calvary;  that  he  is 
the  appointed  and  only  lawful  preacher 
of  eternal  truths ;  that  in  the  tribunal  of 
pennance  he  pronounces  the  absolution 
over  the  repentant  sinner,  and  that  at  the 
hour  of  death  he  stands  by  the  bed  of  the 
tlying  sinner  to  help  him  to  pass  from 
earth  to  heaven,  with  all  the  means  and 
grace  belonging  to  his  holy  ministry:  and 
if  this  is  said  regarding  our  zealous  and 
faithful  co-laborers  in  the  different  mis- 
sions of  our  diocese,  what  obligations 
have  not  the  sheep  and  the  lambs  in  this 
portion  of  God's  vineyard  to  fulfill  to- 
wards their  chief  pastor,  whom  the  Holy 
Ghost  Himself  has  appointed  to  govern, 
to  instruct  and  to  lead  both  priests  and 
people  unto  the  way  of  salvation. 

'No  one  can  calculate  the  amount  of 
harm  that  is  brought  about  by  such  dis- 
loyal Catholics.  A  few  men  in  a  congre- 
gation suffice  to  stir  up  trouble  and  im- 
pede every  good  work.  They  are  able 
to  poison  some  minds  and  plant  suspicion 
in  others.  They  furnish  arguments, 
these  liberal  Catholics — the  greatest  ene- 
mies of  the  Catholic  faith,  according  to 
the  words  of  saintly  Pius  IX. — acceptable 
to  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

"The  mischief  wrought  by  these  dis- 
turbers of  the  unity  and  harmony  of  a 


congregation  is  beyond  calculation.  The 
measure  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  sin  of 
the  disaffected  parishioner,  but  in  all  its 
active  influence  on  others,  working  and 
moving  in  a  parish  for  years.  The  young 
of  the  congregation  hear  the  talk,  imbibe 
its  dangerous  spirit,  and  learn  to  speak 
and  act  like  their  elders.     Worse  than  all, 


REV.     SIMON     MARCEAU,     DIED     AT     THE    GENERAL 
HOSPITAL,    QUEBEC,    JAN.    25,    1879. 

parents  addicted  to  this  sinful  habit  inoc- 
ulate their  children  with  the  sentiments 
of  disobedience  and  disloyalty  to  the 
Bishop  and  the  priest.  These  unwise  par- 
ents know  not  that  the  principle  underly- 
ing God's  command,  "Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother."  includes  the  duty  of 
obedience   and    respect   to   all   legitimate 


280 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


superiors,  and  especially  to  all  who  hold 
the  same  relationship  of  father  to  their 
spiritual  children. 

"Let  us  then,  Beloved  Children  in 
Christ,  pray  for  the  restoration  and  pres- 
ervation of  the  spirit  of  unity,  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  but  let  us,  above 
all,  each  and  all  of  us,  be  converted  our- 
selves, whereupon  shall  come  the  victory 
and  triumph  over  all  our  spiritual  ene- 
mies. 

"Having  received  some  appeals  to  our 
charity  from  the  Irish  Episcopate,  and 
following  the  noble  example  of  our  Breth- 
ren of  the  American  Hierarchy.  We 
therefore  ordain : 

"That  a  collection  be  taken  up  in  all 
the  Missions  of  our  Diocese  on  the  third 
Sunday  in  Lent  for  the  famine  stricken 
people  of  the  Emerald  Isle. 

"They  deserve  our  sympathy  as  a  na- 
tion on  account  of  their  generosity  and 
fidelity  to  the  Church,  and  we  hope  that 
their  suffering  with  the  suffering  ones 
faith  and  charity  will  be  revived  and 
strengthened  in  us  all. 


"The  proceeds  of  this  collection  to  be 
sent  to  Our  address  to  Marquette  by 
Easter  Sunday. 

"We  further  ordain :  That  another 
collection  be  taken  up  for  Our  Orphans 
on  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Easter.  This 
is  a  diocesan  institution ;  to  use  the  words 
of  the  Apostle.  "Our  joy  and  our  crown." 
Let  all  liberally  contribute  towards  it ; 
let  every  priest  in  his  congregation  be 
another  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  and  every 
man  and  woman,  be  another  brother  and 
sister  of  Charity. 

"Remember  the  words  of  Christ: 
"Whatsoever  you  shall  do  to  the  least  of 
these  little  ones,  you  shall  have  it  done  to 
myself."  And  consoling  to  us  will  be,  at 
the  hour  of  our  death,  his  inviting  words : 
"Come  ye  blessed  of  my  father — for  I 
was  hungry,  thirsty  and  naked,  and  you 
gave  me  to  eat,  to  drink  and  have  clothed 
me.  Enter  ye  now  into  the  joy  of  the 
Lord."  5 


6  Pastoral,  dated  Marquette  on  the  Feast  of 
the  Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  2nd 
of  February,  1880. 


Chapter     XI. 

Bishop  Vertin  commences  the  building  of  his  Cathedral.— Makes  his  first  visit  to  the 

Apostolic  See  and  incidently  visits  his  native  country.— Attends  the  Third 

Plenary  Council.— Attends  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Milwaukee. 

Models  the  government  of  his  diocese  in  sentiment  of  the 

decrees  of  the  Plenary  and  the  Provincial  ( 'ouncils. 


No  time  was  lost  in  getting  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  building  of  a  new  Cath- 
edral under  way.  J.  Koch,  from  Mil- 
waukee, was  entrusted  with  the  work 
of  furnishing  plans;  the  ground  plan 
was  delivered  in  summer  of  1880  and 
the  work  commenced  at  once,  while 
the  full  plans  arrived  before  Christmas  of 
that  year.  On  January  15th,  1881,  the 
Mining  Journal  gave  a  description  of  the 
new  Cathedral  and  we  reproduce  it  ver- 
batim because  unwittingly  it  chronicles 
the  deviations  from  original  intentions: 
"The  plans  for  the  new  Catholic  Cathe- 
dral which  is  now  in  course  of  erection 
on  the  beautiful  site  of  the  one  recently 
destroyed  by  fire,  have  at  last  arrived, 
and  through  the  kindness  of  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Vertin  and  the  Master  Builder, 
Mr.  H.  Gregory,  we  were  permitted  to 
look  them  over,  and  will,  in  the  language 
of  one  little  acquainted  with  architectual 
phrases  and  the  ecclesiastical  terms  of  the 
Catholic  House  of  Worship,  try  to  give 
our  readers  an  idea  of  the  beautiful 
church  edifice  which   will    soon    become 


highest  in  rank  among  the  numerous 
temples  of  worship,  which  grace  this 
western  country.  The  building  is  to  be  a 
Cathedral  in  all  that  the  word  implies. 
The  headquarters  for  the  Bishop,  and  the 
place  where  the  sacred  function  of  his 
office,  will  be  performed.  The  size  of  the 
building  on  the  ground  is  to  be  160x80 
feet,  and  designed  after  the  modern  Rom- 
an stvle  of  architecture  and  will  be  built 
of  variegated  Marquette  sandstone. 
There  will  be  two  towers;  one  on  each 
front  corner  iS2V2  feet  m  height  from 
the  water  table  to  the  top  of  the  finale, 
and  each  tower  is  to  be  surmounted  by 
a  beautifully  gilded  galvanized  iron  cross. 
The  northeast  tower  will  be  furm'shed 
with  a  clock  of  four  dials,  and  enrries 
will  be  made  into  the  vestibule  through 
the  side  of  this  tower  from  the  street. 
The  front  elevation  to  the  church  will  be 
furnished  with  triplet  arched  entries 
from  the  street  and  above  these  will  be 
five  arched  windows  to  light  the  gallery. 
In  the  gable  of  the  front  elevation  will 
be  triple   arched   windows,   and  between 


282 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


them  and  the  gallery  lights  will  be  a  rose 
window  14  feet  in  diameter.  A  recess, 
projecting  six   feet   from   either   side   of 


the    church   will  be 


lighted 


with    triple 


arched  windows  surmounted  with  gable 
and  gilt  crosses.  All  the  windows  of  the 
Cathedral  will  be  of  stained  glass.  A 
basement  nine  feet  in  the  clear  will  be 
furnished  with  three  furnaces,  and  the 
best  modern  improvements  for  conduct- 
ing heat  into  the  audience  room  above 
will  be  supplied.  Two  large  ventilating 
and  smoke  flues  surmounted  with  galva- 
nized iron  caps  will  be  located  on  either 
side  of  the  rear  corners  of  the  church. 
The  size  of  the  main  audience  room  from 
the  vestibule  to  the  communion  railing 
will  be  94  feet  and  the  sanctuary  will  be 
36x26^  feet.  There  will  be  two  side 
altars  11x5  feet,  with  a  sacristy  in  the 
rear  of  each  and  on  either  side  of  the 
main  altar  or  sanctuary,  15x15^2  feet, 
with  a  passage  way  to  the  door  behind 
the  main  altar.  There  will  be  three  aisles 
— center  and  two  sides — center  one  to  be 
seven  feet  wide  and  those  at  the  sides 
four  feet  wide.  There  will  be  a  front  gal- 
lery over  the  vestibule  18x56  feet  reached 
by  a  stairway  in  the  west  door.  The  roof 
is  to  be  of  slate.  The  cost  of  the  build- 
ing alone,  without  the  pews  or  other  fur- 
niture, will  be  $40,000.00.  Already  the 
work  of  laying  the  foundation  has  been 
commenced,  and  the  work  of  building 
will  be  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible under  the  supervision  of  Mar- 
quette's Veteran  Builder,  H.  Gregory, 
whose  skill  in  his  chosen  profession  is 
acknowledged  by  all  to  be  that  of  a 
Master,  and  during  the  coming  summer 
it  is  expected  that  the  walls  of  the  edifice 
will  be  up,  and  the  building  enclosed.     As 


the  work  progresses,  We  shall  have  oc- 
casion to  say  more  about  the  Cathedral 
that,  in  days  to  come,  is  to  be  one  of  the 
chief  ornaments  of  this  city  of  beauti- 
ful churches."  l 

The  fund  for  the  new  Cathedral  was 
started  by  a  large  donation  by  Joseph 
Vertin,  the  Bishop's  father.  Many  of  his 
personal  friends.  Protestant  and  Catho- 
lic, sent  their  subscriptions  with  a  word 
.of  cheer  here  and  there,  encouraging  him 
in  the  great  undertaking,  which,  indeed, 
started  out  more  auspiciously  than  at  first 
expected.  "Having  already  earnestly  set 
to  work  and  having  been  materially  aided 
by  outsiders  as  well  as  by  a  good  number 
of  generous  Catholics  of  the  city  and  the 
diocese,  we  have  decided  to  make  an  ap- 
peal to  all  the  faithful  of  the  diocese, 
that  they,  too,  may  assist  us  in  our  enter- 
prise. Hence,  we  ordain  that  a  collec- 
tion for  said  purpose  be  taken  up,  in  the 
most  convenient  manner,  in  every  con- 
gregation of  the  diocese,  during  the  week 
within  the  octave  of  the  feast  of  the 
Apostles  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul,  or  on  the 
Sunday  within  that  octave,  of  each  year, 
until  the  Cathedral  is  self-sustaining. 
During  the  octave  a  Mass  will  be  said 
every  day  for  all  the  benefactors.  More- 
over, persons  who  shall  contribute  FIFTY 
DOLLARS,  or  more,  shall  have  their 
names  inscribed  in  a  memorial  book,  and 
a  Mass  shall  be  said  monthly  in  the  Cath- 
edral for  their  intention,  for  ten  years."  2 
The  result  of  the  first  collection  taken 
up  in  1S81,  was  the  following: 

The  Poles  of  Calumet $178.00 

All  others  of  the  Calumet  congre- 
gation        177.00 


1  P.  White  Lib.  Marq. 

=  Circular  letter,  May  24,   1S81. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE  283 

Torch  Lake  Congregation   157.00  year.     The  work  on  the  Cathedral  had 

Hancock  Congregation   144.00  progressed  far  enough  to  enable  him  to 

Ishpeming  Congregation    1 19.00  lay  the  corner  stone  before  his  departure. 

Xegaunee  Congregation   78.00  Of   this   event   the    Mining  Journal   has 

Houghton  Congregation  55-°o  the  following  record:  "Sunday,  June  19th 

Spalding  and  Stephenson   5100  will   ever   be   a    historical   day   with   the 

Eagle  Harbor   50.00  Catholic  people  of  Marquette  and  of  the 

Marquette  French  Congregation.      50.00  entire  Lake   Superior  diocese,  as  it  was 

Menominee  Congregation    40  00  the  day  on  which  the  Corner  Stone  of  St. 

L'Anse  Congregation    3-2. 00  Peter's  Cathedral  was  laid,    a    building 

Champion    29.60  which,  when  completed  will  not  only  be 

Sault  Ste.  Marie   22.00  an  ornament  to  the  city,  but  a  source  of 

St.  Ignace  and  Mackinac  Congre  pride  to  the  Catholics  everywhere  as  well 

gations    20.00  as  a  lasting  monument  to  the  bishop  who 

Rockland  Congregation    21.69  is  doing  such  noble  work  for  the  good  of 

Michigamme  by  Mr.  Hickey   .  .  .      34.00  his  people.     The  day  was  all  that  could 

Favette    1 1.00  be  desired,  bright  but  not  too  warm — a 

Manistique  per  John  Sostello  .  .  .      10.00  day  upon  which  every  one  might  venture 

Norway    none  out,  and  with  cheerfulness  participate  in 

Escanaba ;    no   collection    because  the  exercises.     The  foundation  and  walls 

there  was  no  resident  priest  at  up  the  first  floor  had  been  laid  and  cov- 

that  time.  ered  with  flooring;  stands  had  been  erect- 

Donations  by  Priests.  ed  for  the  clergy  and  the  singers,  and  the 

Very  Rev.  Edw.  Jacker  $150.00  beautifully    carved    corner    stone    being 

Rev.  Frederick  Eis   100.00  held  ready  to  be  placed  in  its  final  resting 

Rev.  Fabian  Pawlar   50.00  place.      After    dinner   the*  people    began 

Rev.  Thomas  Atfield 100.00  gathering  at  the  Cathedral  and  by  three 

Rev.  Gerhard  Terhorst 50.00  o'clock,  the  time  set  for  the  ceremonies, 

Rev.  Matthias  Orth   25.00  the  throng  in  that  neighborhood    fairly 

Rev.  Aloysius   Majerus    -2500  blocked  up  the   streets   in  all  directions. 

Rev.  H.  J.  Rousseau  3 100.00  Promptly  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  pro- 

In  summer  of  1881  Bishop  Vertin  was  cession  of  bishops  and  clergy  filed  out  of 

preparing  for  his  visit  ad  limina.   The  ten  the  bishop's  house;  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Ver- 

year  limit,  by  which  every  American  bish-  tin,  D.  D.  leading,  and  being  followed  by 

op  is  required  to  make  personal  report  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Joseph  Hogan,  D.  D., 

his  diocese  to  the  Holy  Father,  had  ex-  Bishop  of  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph, 

pired   in   the   fall,    Bishop    Mrak   having  Missouri;  Very  Rev.  Bonaventure  Frey, 

made  his  last  report  in  1870  but  owing  Provincial   of   the   Order   of   Capuchins, 

to   the   unsettled   state  of   the   Cathedral  of  Appleton,  Wis. ;  Rev.  Maurice  C.  Mc- 

parish,  Bishop  Vertin  was  granted  per-  Gee,  of  the  Bishop's  house,   Marquette; 

mission   to    defer    his   visit    for   another  Rev.    F.    Eis   of   Negaunee,    Rev.   H.   J. 

"HJndated  circular  letter,  August  1881.  Rousseau  of  Ishpeming,  Rev.  F.  Pawlar 


284 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


of  Calumet,  Rev.  James  W.  Kelly  of 
Houghton,  Rev.  M.  Orth  of  Republic, 
Rev.  Joseph  Niebling  of  Champion,  Rev. 
E.  J.  Martel  of  Marquette  and  Rev.  T.  A. 
Majerus  of  Spanieling.  The  ceremony 
as  performed  by  Bishop  Vertin,  assisted 
by  the  clergy,  was  strikingly  beautiful 
and  impressive,  lasting  a  full  hour  and 
being  watched  by  a  devout  portion  of  the 
immense  throng  present,  although  nine- 
tenths  of  them  could  not  get  within  hear- 
ing distance.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  cer- 
emony, Bishop  Hogan  preached  the 
sermon.  He  spoke  highly  of  his  impres- 
sions of  Marquette,  and  of  the  name  as 
commemorative  of  the  heroic  Christian 
missionary  who  for  ages  past  had  visited 
and  labored  among  the  Indians  on  these 
shores;  he  likened  the  beautiful  bay  to 
that  of  Naples,  yet  thinking  it  more  grand 
and  beautiful;  he  also  paid  a  high  com- 
pliment to  the  people  for  their  self-sacri- 
ficing aid  to  the  cathedral  fund,  and 
urged  them  to  contribute  even  more 
largely  until  the  work  was  completed.  At 
the  conclusioiiyof  the  ceremonies  the  visit- 
ors returned  to  their  homes  and  the  first 
victory  for  the  new  cathedral  had  been 
achieved,  and  Catholic  people  were  happy. 
It  is  estimated  that  fully  5.000  people 
witnessed  the  ceremonies. 

Work  upon  the  cathedral  will  be 
pushed  rapidly  during  the  summer  and 
by  fall  the  walls  will  be  up  and  the  roof 
in  place."  4 

Early  in  August  Bishop  Vertin  turned 
over  the  administration  of  the  diocese 
to  Bishop  Mrak,  and  gave  him  a  helper  in 
the  person  of  Father  Maurice  Hens,  a 
Capuchin  from  Wisconsin,  and  then 
sailed    for   Europe.      This   was   the   first 

*  June  25,  18S1.     P.  White  Lib.  Marq. 


vacation  the  Bishop  allowed  himself  since 
his  ordination  to  the  priesthood,  fifteen 
years  before,  as  it  was  likewise  his  first 
trip  to  Europe  since  his  emigration  to 
this  country.  After  his  business  in  Rome 
was  attended  to  he  paid  a  short  visit  to 
his  native  home.  In  eighteen  years  many 
things  had  changed  in  old  Carinolia,  and 
he  would  have  been  a  stranger  in  his  own 
native  place  were  it  not  that  his  advent 
was  heralded  by  press  and  letter.  Old 
classmates  who  had  risen  to  various  posi- 
tions in  life  hurried  to  greet  their  old 
friend  who  now  wore  the  mitre.  At 
Rudolfswert,  his  quondam  professors,  of 
whom  only  three  were  alive,  vied  for  the 
honor  of  assisting  him  at  the  Pontifical 
Highmass  which  he  celebrated  in  the 
Franciscan  Church  in  the  presence  of  the 
entire  family  and  students  of  the  Imper- 
ial-Royal Gymnasium  of  which  he  had 
been  a  pupil  himself.  In  Doblice,  his  na- 
tive village,  he  arrived  at  the  time  of  the 
vintage,  the  most  joyous  season  of  that 
region.  A  tap  from  the  church-bell  is 
sufficient  to  arrest  the  people's  attention 
as  far  as  its  sound  is  heard.  The  vintag- 
ers hurried  from  all  over  Tancagora 
down  to  their  peaceful  valley  to  greet  the 
high  visitor,  who  first  saw  the  light  of 
day  in  their  own  midst.  There  were  many 
who  had  been  his  school  companions,  oth- 
ers knew  him  by  name  only,  since  the 
news  of  his  elevation  to  the  episcopate 
had  penetrated  even  that  remote  corner 
of  Southern  Austria.  The  little  church 
of  St.  Vitus  where  he  celebrated  Pontifi- 
cal Highmass,  unable  to  hold  the  people, 
was  surrounded  by  a  multitude,  happy 
and  satisfied  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him 
while  passing  from  the  church  door  to 
his  carriage.   Only  a  Baraga  or  an  Abuna 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


285 


Soliman, 3  met  with  such  reception  as  was 
accorded  Bishop  Vertin  while  sojourning 
in  his  native  Krain. 

Returning,  on  December  17th,  to  the 
diocese  he  devoted  his  time  to  its  advance- 
ment. Already  in  1879  the  Menominee 
Range  was  alive  with  prospectors,  so  that 
he  was  obliged  to  appoint  Rev.  Father 
Rousseau  to  look  after  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  people  employed  in  prospecting, 
but  now  the  great  iron  wealth  has  been 
disclosed  along  the  long  belt  from 
Waucedah  to  Crystal  Falls  and  Iron 
River.  The  loggers'  camp  gave  place  to 
mining  shafts  and  in  place  of  the  echo- 
ing chopper's  axe,  pick  and  shovel  were 
in  evidence  everywhere.  Father  Rous- 
seau had  established  himself  at  Norway, 
attending  to  the  missions  up  and  down 
the  line  as  necessity  required.  There  were 
six  small  towns  within  the  range  of  sev- 
enty miles  with  equal  chances  for  a  bright 
future,  Waucedah,  Vulcan,  Norway, 
Ouinnesec.  Iron  Mountain,  Crystal  Falls 
and  Iron  River,  but  the  largest  of  them 
and  most  populous  were  Norway  and 
Ouinnesec ;  although  only  a  few  miles 
apart  and  butting  on  one  another,  they 
were  looked  upon  as  a  most  favorable 
location  for  a  new  church.  The  territory, 
being  too  large  for  one  priest,  had  to  be 
divided ;  to  facilitate  this  division  Father 
Rousseau  built  the  two  churches  and  as 
early  as  1882  Ouinnesec  became  a  parish 
with  the  towns  to  the  west  as  her  mis- 
sions, while  Norway  retained  only  Vul- 
can. Iron  Mountain  was  then  a  town  of 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  inhabit- 
ants, but  her  growth  was  apace  with  the 


development  of  the  Chapin  Mine,  her 
main  support.  In  1883  Crystal  Falls  and 
Iron  River  received  a  stationary  pastor 
with  the  residence  at  the  latter  place,  and 
one  year  after  Iron  Mountain,  having 
out-strippd  her  sister  city,  Ouinnesec,  in 
business,  population  and  prominence,  the 
priest  in  charge  was  also  forced  to  follow 
the  majority  of  his  flock  to  their  new 
residence. 


D  Rt.  Rev.  Ignatius  Knoblehar,  bishop  in  South 
Africa,  called  by  his  black  diocesans  Abuna  Soli- 
man,  a  contemporary  of  Baraga. 


REV.   JOHN    C.    KENNY. 

The  growth  of  missions  on  the  North- 
western Road,  between  Menominee  and 
Escanaba  was  not  less  marvelous.  In 
1878  Rev.  Martin  Fox  located  in  Spald- 
ing where  a  sawmill  was  operated 
by  a  company  of  the  same  name.  From 
there  he  visited  all  the  stations  north  of 
Menominee,  among  them  Wallace, 
Stephenson,  Bagley,  Nadeau,  Kloman. 
Section  49,  Bark  River  and  Waucedah. 
Since  then  Stephenson,  Nadeau  and  Bark 


286 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


River  have  become  permanent  parishes 
with  many  smaller  missions  attached  to 
them. 

The  missions  north  of  Escanaba  were 
not    as    prosperous    as    those    just  men- 
tioned;   though    numerous    enough,    na- 
tural resources  were  too  limited  to  foster 
their  rapid  growth  and  the)'  are  to  this 
day  divided  among  the  nearest  bordering 
parishes.      Until    some    ten    years    ago, 
however,  Lathrop  or  Centerville,  Maple 
Ridge,  Perkins,  Brampton  or  Days  River 
and  Ford  River  were  dependent  for  serv- 
ices  on   Escanaba.      In    1889   when    the 
parish   of    Gladstone    was    formed,    they 
were  attached  to  that  place,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Ford   River,   which,  being  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Escanaba, 
naturally  still  belong  to  it.      Manistique  ■ 
became  a  parish  in  1884,  being  detached 
from    Fayette.      In    1880    Republic    was 
raised  to  a  parish.     In  1879  the  Gogebic 
Range  attracted,  by  the  discovery  of  in- 
exhaustible  deposits  of   iron,   multitudes 
of  people,  so  that  the  towns  of  Ironwood. 
Bessemer  and  Wakefield  came  into  exist- 
ence as  if  called  forth  by  magic.     At  first 
one  priest  was  detailed  to  look  after  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  people,  but  soon  his 
task  became  too  arduous,  and  Ironwood 
and  Bessemer  were  erected  into  perma- 
nent parishes  in  1886. 

These  developments  practically  opened 
up  the  whole  compass  of  the  diocese;  and 
if  we  notice  that  it  was  all  accomplished 
within  seven  or  eight  years,  we  can  better 
imagine  the  activity  of  the  Bishop  than 
describe  it.  He  invariably  visited  new 
places  to  ascertain  for  himself  about  their 
future  prospects  and  stability,  in  order  to 
determine  the  kind  and  the  size  and  the 
location  of  parish  buildings,  and  then,  to 


be  rightly  guided  in  the  selection  of  the 
pastor,    he   never    failed   to   inquire   into 
the  nationality  of  the  people.     The  ma- 
jority of  the  new  settlers  were  not  people 
of   means;   while    they    were    willing   to 
contribute   towards   the   building   of   the 
churches,    oftentimes    they    were    unable 
until  they  had  secured  a  home  for  them- 
selves.    Here  the  liberal  policy  of  Bishop 
Vertin  proved  most  beneficial,  he*  always 
went  sponsor  for  any  reasonable  amount 
of  debt,  and  as  the  property  was  deeded 
to  him  in  fee  simple  he  personally  signed 
the  notes  and  never  mortgaged  any  prop- 
erty.  He  was  satisfied  that  the  policy  was 
financially  sound,  being  based  on  a  princi- 
ple of  a  loan  association.     The  building 
lots  were  usually  donated  or  bought  for 
a    nominal    sum ;    the    character    of    the 
building  as   well   as   the  growth   of   the 
town  added  almost  as  much  value  to  the 
property  as  the  periodical  payments  de- 
creased   the    indebtedness.      It    was    the 
simple  plan  of  a  poor  man  acquiring  a 
home  applied  in  the  acquisition  of  church 
property,  only  with  the  additional  safe- 
guard  that   the   unit   of  a   congregation 
was  composed  of  many  responsible  pay- 
ers, who  were  more  likely  to  increase  in 
number    than    decrease.      At    all    events 
Bishop  Vertin's  theory  asserts   itself  by 
the  fact  that  in  twenty  years  of  his  ad- 
ministration he  'was  but  once  obliged  to 
pay  a  note  of  five  hundred  dollars,  which 
a  run-down  congregation  failed  to  meet. 
At   the   time  of   his   death   the   diocesan 
property  was  valued  at  over  seven  hun- 
dred thousand,  with  an  incumbrance  of 
less  than  fifty  thousand.     However,   re- 
gardless of  the  merits  or  demerits  of  his 
financial  policy,  the  fact  remains  undis- 
puted that  if  it  were  not  for  his  lenient 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


287 


way  in  the  matter  of  church  loans,  the 
diocese  would  likely  not  own  one  half  the 
churches,  and,  if  she  owned  them,  they 
would  he  but  miserable  shacks,  whereas 
they  nuw,  on  an  average,  compare  favor- 
ably with  any  diocese  of  the  United 
States. 

Bishop  Vertin,  not  less  than  his  pred- 
ecessors, valued  the  parochial  schools. 
During  the  above  period  Sisters'  schools 
were  introduced  in  Houghton,  Ishpeming, 
Negaunee,  Escanaba  and  Lake  Linden. 
In  Escanaba  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis 
also  had  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Delta  Co.  Hospital,  the  first  hospital  in 
the  diocese.       * 

Since  the  diocese  was  enlivened  by  the 
industrial  activity  which  called  so  many 
new  missions  into  existence,  and  gave  the 
old  ones  new  vigor,  the  Bishop  appropri- 
ately and  opportunely  admonishes  his 
diocesans  to  charity  towards  their  fellow 
men  and  to  generosity  to  diocesan  insti- 
tutions. "Let  priests  and  people  unite." 
he  says,  "in  contributing  towards  the 
wants  of  their  own  mission  in  particular; 
such  as  the  maintenance  of  the  church', 
the  school  and  the  general  advancement 
of  their  parish,  and  at  the  same  time  not 
fail  to  give  towards  the  general  good  of 
the  Diocese. 

"There  are  many  noble  hearted  souls 
in  our  Diocese  who  have  by  their  gener- 
osity proved  themselves  worthy  of  the 
glorious  title  Catholic;  but  there  are  at 
the  same  time  very  many  who  bear  the 
name  unworthily,  on  account  of  their 
contracted   spirit. 

"We  must  all  unite  our  endeavors  that 
our  Diocese  be  equal  to  others,  many  of 
which  have  far  less  proportionate  means 
than    we    have,    nevertheless    have    done 


much  more  for  spiritual  and  temporal 
improvements  than  has  been  so  far  done 
here.  What  is  the  reason  of  all  this?  I 
answer  plainly:  it  is  the  want  of  a  lively 
faith,  an  INORDINATE  DESIRE  OF 
TEMPORAL  GOODS,  and  not  obeying 
the  strict  inculcation  of  the  Church  to 
fulfil  our  duty  and  PERFORM  GOOD 
WORKS.    Whv  do  not  alms  flow  abund- 


REV.    TH.    A.    TROTTENBERG. 

antly  as  in  ages  of  >Faith?  Alas!  de- 
spicable indifference  and  the  spirit  of  the 
age  which  seeks  only  the  things  of  this 
world,  and  makes  men  forgetful  or  in- 
sensible to  the  love  they  owe  their 
neghbor.  But  beware  of  the  so-called 
spirit  of  the  age,  so  highly  extolled  by 
many,  whose  very  name  shows  that  it  be- 
longs to  time,  and  evidently  not  to  the 


288 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Holy  Spirit  who  is  eternal,  but  to  the 
Evil  one,  the  prince  and  ruler  of  the 
world.     (John  XII.,  31.) 

"With  many  it  is  want  of  a  LIVELY 
and  FIRM  faith.  Why  were  our  Chris- 
tian forefathers  able  to  accomplish  so 
much?  See  the  magnificient  cathedrals, 
the  commodious  asylums,  and  the  vast 
educational  structures  that  cover  the 
Catholic  Old  World  and  pass  before  the 
view  of  the  traveler,  monuments  of  the 
faith  of  our  ancestors,  and  ask  why  we 
do  comparatively  so  little  in  the  cause  of 
religion?  It  is  because  the  lively  faith 
that  animated  them  is  wanting  in  our 
day.  'This  is  the  victory,  which  over- 
cometh  the  world,  our  Faith.'  (  I.  John  V. 

4-) 

"Others  imagine  that  if  they  do  not 
speak  against  religion,  if  they  say  their 
prayers,  attend  Mass  on  Sundays  and 
approach  the  sacraments  that  they  are 
perfect  Christians  and  do  quite  enough 
for  salvation;  but  the  Holy  Ghost  lays 
down  as  a  characteristic  sign  of  true  and 
genuine  piety,  'to  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  tribulation  and  to  keep 
oneself  undefiled  from  this  world.' 
(James  I.  27.)  Both  should  be  done; 
like  accomplished  artisans.  Christians 
should  be  perfect  in  every  respect,  and 
not  perform  a  part,  leaving  the  rest  un- 
done. 

"Avarice,  this  inordinate  desire  of  tem- 
poral goods  which  St.  Paul  calls  the  root 
of  all  evil  (1  Tim.  VI.  10),  is  another 
principal  cause  of  our  doing  so  little  for 
God  and  His  Church.  Avarice  is  idol- 
atry; for  it  is  virtually  the  same  whether 
an  IMAGE  OR  GOLD  is  the  object  of 
adoration.  Money,  not  God,  is  the  stand- 
ard by  which  the  avaricious  man  weighs 


all  things.  His  fundamental  idea  and 
standard  of  value  is  EARTH.  He  is 
worth  the  number  of  his  dollars,  and  no 
more.  He  estimates  his  fellow  man  ac- 
cording to  his  money  and  not  on  account 
of  his  virtue,  good  qualities  and  moral 
worth.  Does  he  ask  in  all  his  actions: 
Is  it  lawful?  just?  wdiat  does  God  say? 
No!  but  how  much  does  it  pay?  He 
values  churches,  schools,  asylums  and  all 
other  religious  institutions  by  their  in- 
trinsic value,  and  he  is  wholly  earthly  in 
his  inclinations  and  views.  Number  being 
his  standard  and  his  heart  a  multiplica- 
tion table,  he  cannot  understand  their 
utility  and  necessity,  consequently,  he 
never  contributes  towards  them,  unless 
he  is  absolutely  compelled  to  do  so. 

"What  low  and  debasing  sentiments 
in  an  image  of  God,  destined  to  live  dur- 
ing all  eternity,  not  among  the  PERISH- 
ABLE TREASURES  of  this  earth,  but 
with  the  IMPERISHABLE  ones  in 
heaven.  Therefore,  the  scripture  sayeth: 
'Nothing  is  more  wicked  than  the  covet- 
ous man.'     (Eccli.  X.  9.) 

"Listen  to  what  all  money  and  property 
is  for :  It  is  the  traveling  expenses  which 
yi  >ur  heavenly  Father  has  placed  in  your 
hands  to  accomplish  your  journey  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave.  If  you  have  more 
than  required,  make  friends  for  your- 
selves of  the  poor  and  needy,  whose 
prayers  will  accompany  you  on  your 
journey,  and  prepare  you  mansions  in  the 
next  life.  Doing  this  you  will  not  lose 
your  treasures,  but  will  secure  them  for- 
ever, since  God  regards  what  you  give  to 
the  church,  the  orphans,  the  poor  and  for 
religious  purposes  as  so  much  given  to 
Him.  He  himself  says:  'He  that  hath 
mercy  on  the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord: 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


289 


and  He  will  repay  him.'  (Prov.  XIX. 
17.)  God  is  not  avaricious.  Men  give 
at  most  but  ten  per  cent.  He  gives  a 
hundredfold.  If,  therefore,  you  make 
frequent  deposits  with  him  during  ten, 
twenty,  fifty  years,  you  are  indeed  im- 
mensely rich — a  millionaire,  as  soon  as 
you  will  arrive  in  the  future,  eternal 
World. 

"  'Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures 
on  earth,  where  rust  and  moth  consume, 
and  where  thieves  break  through  and 
steal.  But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures 
in  Heaven  where  neither  rust  nor  moth 
doth  consume,  and  where  the  thieves  do 
not  break  through  nor  steal.'  (Matt.  VI. 
19,  jo.)     This  is  true,  practical  wisdom. 

"Dearly  beloved  in  Christ :  Reflect 
seriously  on  these  words.  In  doing  so 
it  will  become  evident  to  you  why  those 
who  always  generously  contribute  toward 
every  charitable  and  religious  work 
never  miss  what  they  give.  God  finds 
them  such  faithful  stewards  that  he  al- 
ways repays  them,  even  besides  giving 
them  here  joy  and  consolation  in  their 
charitable  deeds,  and  life  eternal  hereaf- 
ter. 

"But  you  may  say,  'we  are  constantly 
called  upon  and  compelled  to  give.' 
'There  is  no  end  to  begging.'  Certainly 
not,  why  should  there  be?  Do  you 
not  continually  receive  from  God,  and 
does  he  not  increase  your  substance  and 
send  sustenance  every  day?  And  will 
you  not  pay  at  least  interest  in  return? 
If  the  state,  for  its  little  assistance  and  the 
insecure  protection  it  affords,  demands 
continually  such  heavy  taxes,  has  not 
God,  from  whom  you  have  all  you  pos- 
sess, the  right  also  to  receive  something 
in  return? 


''Do  not  anxiously  inquire  for  what 
special  poor  children  a  collection  is  taken 
up,  nor  where  a  diocesan  institution 
should  be  built.  The  fact  of  it  being  a 
diocesan  one  is  sufficient  to  cause  the 
faithful  throughout  the  diocese  to  take 
an  active  interest  in  its  welfare  and  feel 
a  just  pride  in  its  existence.  Mankind  in 
all  the  world  is  but  one  great  family,  and 


REV.    WILLIAM    T.    HOY,    NOW    IN    THE    DU- 
Ll'TH    DIOCESE. 


we  in  the  diocese  form  among  ourselves 
a  particular  household  having  God  for 
our  father.  Christ  says :  'Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'  (Luke  X. 
27.)  He  has  beautifully  illustrated  who 
is  our  neighbor  in  the  example  of  the 
good  Samaritan,  which  instruction  he 
concludes  by  saying :  'Go  and  do  thou  in 
like  manner.'    (Ibid.  X.  37.)    Those  who 


290 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


would  restrict  their  benefits  to  nation  and 
kindred  He  calls  heathen.  (Math.  V.  47.) 
'Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  as  also  your 
heavenly  father  is  perfect.'  (Math.  V. 
48. )  Make  only  the  distinction  which 
He  makes  between  the  good  and  the  bad, 
but  at  the  same  time,  'be  not  overcome  by 
evil,  but  overcome  evil  by  good,'  ( Rom. 
XII.  21  and  like  our  holy  Mother,  the 
Church,  be  one,  holy,  Catholic  and  apos- 
tolic. 

"Exhorting  finally,  in  spirit  of  our 
pastoral  duty,  all  the  faithful  under  our 
charge  to  remain  obedient  children  of 
their  mother,  the  Church,  we  sincerely 
wish  them  to  be  imbued  with  a  spirit  of 
true,  unfeigned  charity  in  word  and  in 
deed."  ,; 

Anxious  to  promote  temporal  well-be- 
ing in  his  diocese,  Bishop  Vertin  did  not 
forget  the  spiritual.  In  the  above  quoted 
Pastoral  he  most  emphatically  enjoins 
upon  his  priests  to  gather  the  children 
around  themselves,  imparting  to  them 
religious  instruction  as  best  they  see  fit, 
threatening  at  the  same  time  the  parent 
who  will  not  send  his  children  to  these 
instructions  with  a  denial  of  absolution. 
There  was  no  uniform  catechism  adopted 
in  those  days  for  the  United  States.  To 
obviate  this  want  he  laid  down,  in  a  Pas- 
toral of  May  13,  1883,  the  following  rule: 
"For  uniformity  sake  there  shall  be  in- 
troduced :  For  the  French  cpeaking :  Le 
Petit  Catechisme  de  Quebec ;  the  smaller 
part  to  be  used  in  the  instruction  of  chil- 
dren before  their  first  holy  Communion, 
and  pro  rudibus  for  the  first  holy  Com- 
munion, and  the  larger  part  preparatory 

8  Lenten  Pastoral,  dated  on  the  Feast  of  St. 
Scholastica  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1882. 


to   the    first    holy    Communion   and    two 
years  thereafter. 

"For  those  learning  Christian  doctrine 
in  German,  bather  Weninger's  small  or 
large  Catechism  shall  be  adopted,  suited 
to  the  personal  and  local  circumstances 
of  the  pupils. 

"For  the  English  speaking  children 
the  Father  Weninger  series  of  Cate- 
chisms, published  by  P.  O'Shea,  $j  Bar- 
clay Str.,  New  York,  shall  be  used. 

"For  advanced  classes  we  order  Bishop 
Gilmour's  Bible  History,  published  by 
Benziger  Bros.,  and  recommend  to  the 
lay-Catechists,  for  their  perusal,  the 
Manual  of  Catholic  Religion  by  the  Very 
Rev.  F.  X.  Weninger,  S^  J.,  D.  D." 

The  building  of  the  Cathedral,  consid- 
ering that  it  was  carried  on  by  day-work 
under  the  superintendency  of  James  Lo- 
renz,  was  progressing  favorably  enough, 
so  that  in  the  fall  of  1883  the  great 
church  was  under  roof  and  enclosed.  The 
basement  was  then  finished  and  fitted  for 
services ;  on  Christmas  eve,  December 
25th,  1883,  the  first  "Gloria  in  excelsis" 
resounded  in  the  new  place  of  worship 
Assisted  by  Fathers  Hass  and  Maurice, 
O.  M.  C,  in  the  presence  of  Bishop  Mrak, 
and  of  a  congregation  that  filled  the 
spacious  basement  to  overflowing,  Bishop 
Vertin  celebrated  a  solemn  Pontifical 
High  Mass.  The  occasion  melted  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  the  flood  of  com- 
mingled feelings  of  joy  and  happiness 
carried  away  the  last  vestige  of  antagon- 
ism against  the  Ordinary  who,  by  bis  un- 
daunted energy,  and  impartial  amiability, 
had  won  their  respect  and  love. 

The  Bishop,  too,  was  extremely  happy 
that  things  had  so  agreeably  composed 
themselves.      Grateful    to    Divine    Provi- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


291 


dence  for  this  grace,  lie  could  not  but  ex- 
press, likewise,  his  gratitude  to  those  who 
had  materially  aided  him  in  accomplish- 
ing his  most  ardent  aim.  In  words  that 
flowed  from  his  heart  he  thanked  the 
people  present  at  the  opening  services  on 
Christmas  night  for  their  assistance,  still 
he  inserted,  on  the  27th  of  December 
1883.  in  the  columns  of  the  Mining 
Journal,  a  Card  of  Thanks  to  all  who  had 
aided  him  in  the  construction  of  the 
Cathedral,  and  in  particular  to  those  who 
had  contributed  more  than  one  hundred 
dollars.  He  mentions:  Hon.  Peter 
White,  J.  G.  O'Keefe,  Balthazar  Neid- 
hart,  Marquette  Division  A.  O.  H.,  Sam- 
uel E.  Byrnes,  Timothy  Nestor,  Louis 
Reidinger,  Dwyer  Bros.,  Jacob  Frei, 
.Martin  Yielding.  Peter  Werner,  Tor- 
rence  Moor,  Mr.  Thurber  and  the  firms 
of  Ransom.  Burtis,  Marsh  &  Co..  and 
Wolf,  Jacobs  &  Co. 

For  the  increased  number  of  parishes 
Bishop  Vertin  obtained  pastors  for  them 
either  by  ordination  or  by  adoption  of 
extraneous  clergy.  He  ordained  the  fol- 
lowing priests  during  the  first  decade  of 
his  episcopate : 

T.  J.  Atfield,  May  19.  1880. 

F.  X.  Becker,  February  26,  1883. 

Fabian  Marceau,  August  jo,  1885. 

Joseph  P.  Kunes  and  Joseph  M.  Lan- 
gan.  May  2^,  1888. 

Th.  V.  Dassylva.  July,  1888. 

Joseph  R.  Boissonnault,  Joseph  A. 
Sauriol  and  P.  C.  Paquet  for  New  Or- 
leans, La.,  July  19.  1889. 

The  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  the  United  States  can  best  be  seen  in 
the  necessity  of  new  laws  which  from 
time  to  time  had  to  be  enacted  for  her 
government.     In  1866  the  bishops  of  the 


United  States  met  in  Baltimore  in  Sec- 
ond Plenary  Council  to  deliberate  on  the 
best  method  and  means  of  preserving  and 
furthering  the  Catholic  religion,  and  only 
eighteen  years  later  they  were  no  longer 
considered  as  adequate  to  the  limitless 
possibilities  to  which  the  Church  had 
risen,  nor  efficacious  enough  for  her  safe 
guidance.  Therefore,  at  the  representa- 
tion   of    American    bishops,     the    Holy 


REV.   J.   E.    STRUIF,   BRESSLAU,  EUROPE. 

Father.  Leo  XIII..  in  the  decree  Rei  Ca- 
tholicac,  empowered  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  to  convoke 
the  Third  Plenary  Council,  which  duty 
his  Eminence  performed  in  a  rescript  of 
March  19,  1884  addressed  to  all  the 
Ordinaries  and  those  whose  duty  or  right 
it  is  to  be  present,  calling  upon  them  to 
convene  for  that  purpose  on  the  ninth 
day  of  November  1884  in  the  Metropoli- 


292 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


tan  church  at  Baltimore.  Bishop  Vertin 
attended  this  Council  and  served  in  the 
eighth  deputation,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
draw  up  decrees  concerning  the  Christian 
doctrine.  Under  this  heading  was  under- 
stood the  matter  pertaining  to  the  office 
of  preaching,  of  teaching  Catechism, 
prayer  books  and  Catholic  journalism; 
to  this  was  added  the  Catholic  immigra- 
tion and  colonization.  Archbishop  Elder 
of  Cincinnati  was  president  of  the  depu- 
tation ;  members  thereof,  together  with 
Bishop  Vertin,  were  Bishop  Borgess  of 
Detroit,  Bishop  Gilmour  of  Cleveland. 
Bishop  Ireland  of  St.  Paul  and  Bishop 
Wigger  of  Newark.  Rev.  Dr.  Henry 
Moeller,  the  present  Archbishop  of  Cin- 
cinnati, was  secretary  and  there  were 
eight  theologians  attached.  Rev.  F.  X. 
Weninger,  S.  J.,  D.  D.,  accompanied 
Bishop  Vertin  to  the  Council  as  his  the- 
ologian. 

The  decrees  of  the  Council  were  to  take 
effect  everywhere  in  the  L  nited  States 
immediately  after  the  promulgation  of 
the  papal  approval  of  them,  yet  it  was 
agreed  among  the  bishops  of  the  Council 
to  hold,  as  soon  as  convenient  after  the 
promulgation,  either  a  Provincial  Coun- 
cil or  a  Diocesan  Synod  and  promulgate 
them,  again  shaping  local  conditions  for 
their  observance.  In  the  spirit  of  this 
resolution  a  Provincial  Council  was 
called  by  Archbishop  Heiss  for  the  Prov- 
ince of  Milwaukee  to  meet  in  the  Metro- 
politan church  on  the  fourth  Sunday  af- 
ter Easter,  it  being  the  .23rd  of  May, 
1886.  All  suffragans  attended.  Bishop 
Vertin's  theologians  were  Revs.  Edward 
Jacker  and  Frederick  Eis. 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  and  sub- 
sequently   the    Provincial    Council    have 


adopted  a  new  legislation  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  country  at  large  and  of 
the  Province  of  Milwaukee  in  particular. 
To  bring  his  occasional  decrees,  scattered 
throughout  the  Pastorals  of  many  years, 
within  the  sense  of  the  two  Councils, 
Bishop  Vertin  framed  the  following: 

"Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Dio- 
cese of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette. 

"Dispensations  from  the  'Banns'  shall 
not  be  granted  by  any  of  our  Mission- 
aries except  for  most  important  and  urg- 
ent reasons,  and  then  those  of  one  pub- 
lication only,  which  dispensation  must  be 
recorded  with  the  marriage  in  the  mar- 
riage record.  For  any  other  dispensation 
the  Bishop's  permission  must  be  asked  in 
writing  by  the  respective  priest — but  in 
no  case  by  telegram,  or  sending  the  part- 
ies to  us.  For  each  dispensation  two 
dollars  must  be  demanded  (for  three 
$5.00)  and  forwarded  immediately  to  the 
Bishop  to  be  applied  toward  some  good 
work,  and  for  payment  of  this  the  priest 
shall  be  held  responsible. 

''When  a  dispensation  from  the  im- 
pediments mixtae  religionis,  disparitatis 
cultus,  primi  and  secundi  gradus  aftini- 
tatisx  2di  gradus  consanguinitatis,  and 
in  radice,  is  required,  application  must  be 
made  to  the  Bishop.  The  names  of  the 
parties  and  their  standing  in  society  must 
be  given;  whether  poor,  in  moderate  cir- 
cumstances, or  well  to  do  in  the  world, 
that  the  Bishop  may  determine  the 
amount  of  Alms,  required  by  Rome,  to 
be  remitted  to  him  toward  some  good 
work. 

"For  each  of  the  above  dispensations 
two  dollars  must  be  invariably  de- 
manded for  the  chancery  of  the  diocese. 

"In  all  cases  of  dispensation,  canonical 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


293 


reasons  must  be  alleged.     Vide  page  349 
Con.  of  B.  in  in  appendice. 

"The  contracting  parties  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  sacrament  of  matrimony 
must  present  themselves  for  examination 
to  the  local  priest  before  the  blessing  of 
the  marriage. 

"All  marriages  shall  be  contracted  in 
the  morning,  in  order  that  the  contract- 
ing parties,  assisting  at  Mass,  may  re- 
ceive the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the 
Church. 

"All  funerals  of  grown  up  Catholics 
shall  take  place  in  the  morning,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  shall  be  offered  up 
for  the  departed  soul. 

"If  funerals  take  place  outside  the 
mission  of  the  deceased,  the  presiding 
priest  must  be  informed  thereof,  and  he 
shall  enter  the  required  record  into  the 
parochial  registers  for  which  the  ordi- 
nary tax  shall  be  asked. 

"Any  and  all  parties  coming  under  our 
jurisdiction  who  are  living  a  life  of  pub- 
lic concubinage  are  excommunicated  from 
the  Church. 

"Whosoever  (both  parties  being  Cath- 
olic members)  shall  henceforth  be  mar- 
ried outside  the  Catholic  Church  are 
excommunicated,  ipso  facto;  when  but 
one  of  the  contracting  parties  is  a  Cathi  1- 
lic,  his  or  her  case  remaining  reserved 
to  the  Bishop. 

"If  any  congregation  or  part  of  a  con- 
gregation, or  any  lay-members  of  the 
Church  shall  henceforth  interfere  with 
the  existing  Diocesan  regulations  by  try- 
ing to  retain,  by  force,  against  the  will 
of  the  Bishop,  any  priest  in  the  congrega- 
tion, or  refuse  to  give  the  due  obedience 
and  subsistence  to  the  one  approved  by 
the  Ordinary  of  the  Diocese,  the  church 


of  such  a  congregation  shall  be  inter- 
dicted i.e..  no  religious  service  shall  be 
held  therein  and  the  ring-leaders  of  the 
interference  shall  fall  under  the  censures 
of  the  Church,  subject  to  the  judgment  of 
the  Bishop.  See  .C.  of  Bait.,  P.  112,  Xo. 
[86.  These  three  above  cases  are  re- 
served to  ourselves  for  absolution. 


REV.     JOSEPH     BARRON,     NOW     AT     LOS     ANGELES, 
CAL. 

"Neither  the  building  of  a  church  nor 
the  alteration  of  an  old  church  edifice, 
nor  the  alteration  of  a  parochial  resi- 
dence, nor  the  erection  of  a  school  house, 
nor  of  a  pastoral  residence,  shall  be  begun 
without  the  written  approbation  of  the 
Bishop. 

"A  Catholic  school  must  be  established 
in  every  Parish  at  the  earliest  practical 
time,  if  the  strict  economy  of  the  revenue 
and  other  resources  of  the  congregation 
can   at   all   justify   it.      It   is   a   question 


294 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


admitting  of  no  apology,  with  which  the 
consciences  of  the  presiding  priest  and 
the  people  are  charged,  and  both  must 
answer  to  God  for  the  guilt,  if  they  have 
neglected  their  duty  toward  the  immortal 
souls  of  the  children  entrusted  to  their 
charge. 

"Any  careless  parents,  who  will  not 
send  their  children  to  Christian  instruc- 
tions preparatory  to  first  holy  commun- 
ion, particularly  when  the  children  have 
completed  the  I2th  year,  shall  be  denied 
absolution  by  the  presiding  priest. 

"  'If  any  man  have  no  care  of  his  own. 
and  especially  of  those  of  his  house,  he 
hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than 
an  infidel.' — I  Tim.  v.  8. 

"The  presiding  priest  shall  have  the 
entire  control  of  the  school  and  the 
teachers,  and  engage  them  according  to 
the  income  of  the  congregation,  or  dis- 
charge the  same  according  to  the  dictates 
of  his  conscience,  subject  only  to  the 
judgment  of  the  Bishop.  But  religious 
shall  neither  be  introduced  into  any  par- 
ish, nor  dismissed  without  the  written 
consent  of  the  Bishop. 

"In  every  congregation  in  this  Diocese 
there  must  be  a  council  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  temporal  affairs,  to  be 
either  elected  by  the  people  or  appointed 
by  the  Bishop. 

"The  pew  rents,  Sunday  collections, 
extra  collections,  subscriptions,  donations, 
rents,  sales  and  exchanges  for  the  benefit 
of  the  church,  constitute  the  revenues  of 
the  church,  for  the  administration  of 
which  the  Missionaries  shall  be  respons- 
ible. 

"All  expenses  for  the  church  and 
schools  will  be  defrayed  by  the  ordinary 
means,  coming  from  pew  rent,  monthly 


dues  and  by  the  collections,  principally, 
so  well  recommended  by  the  Apostle  ( i 
Cor.  c.  1 6,  v.  1-3)  ;  any  other  manner  of 
raising  funds  for  said  purposes  must  first 
be  proposed  to,  and  then  approved  of  by 
the  Ordinary  of  the  Diocese. 

"The  congregation  will  henceforth 
provide  for  the  necessaries  of  the  altar, 
as  the  penny  collection  is  taken  by  the 
priest  on  account  of  their  salary. 

"As  it  is  the  privileged  right  of  the 
Diocesan  Bishop  alone  to  determine  a 
certain  sum  of  contribution  toward  the 
priest's  support — see  C.  of  Bait.,  P.  118, 
No.  4 — it  is  herewith  forbidden  laymen 
to  increase,  lessen  or  retain  any  fixed  con- 
tribution  thus   allowed. 

"The  priests'  support-contributions 
shall  range  in  each  mission  according  to 
the  income  of  the  pews  as  follows : 

"It  shall  not  exceed  $800  in  missions 
where — the  necessary  yearly  expenses  to- 
ward the  divine  worship  in  the  same 
church  being  deducted — the  rent  of  the 
pews  shall  amount  to  that  sum;  in  mis- 
sions, on  the  other  hand,  where  the  pew 
rent  is  not  so  high,  the  Missionary — after 
deducting  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the 
church — shall  have  the  balance  remain- 
ing; and  finally,  where  there  is  no  pew 
rent  income,  a  customary  collection  shall 
be  taken  up  monthly  or  quarterly  in  every 
station  of  the  mission,  by  some  appointed 
and  reliable  men  of  the  place,  of  which 
amount  due  account  shall  be  forwarded 
to  the  Bishop  at  the  prescribed  time  for 
inspection,  that  he  may  be  able  to  judge 
of  the  incoming  support  given  to  the 
priest,  and  make  due  remarks  to  the  con- 
gregation at  his  pastoral  visit. 

"The  congregation  shall  henceforth 
furnish  the  fuel   for  the  priests,  in  mis- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


295 


sions  where  the  pew  rent  may  allow  of 
that  outlay;  but  where  the  income  is  not 
so  high,  a  special  collection  shall  defray 
that  expense,  as  the  collections  on  Christ- 
mas and  Easter,  will  now  go  for  two 
Diocesan  purposes. 

"The  above  amount  of  contributions 
likewise  refers  to  missions  where  there  is 
but  one  or  more  churches  than  one  regu- 
larly visited,  and  whether  or  not  the  priest 
keeps  conveyance  fur  himself,  for  in 
such  a  case,  the  station  or  stations 
must  pay  for,  or  furnish  the  same, 
with  some  additional  allowance  as 
agreed  between  the  station  people 
and  the  visiting  priest  subject  to  the 
ratification  of  the  Bishop. 

"The  contribution  for  the  assist- 
ing Rector  or  assistant — where  there 
are  two  priests — shall,  on  each  occa- 
sion, when  deputized  to  any  other 
priest,  be  determined  by  the  Bishop. 

"The  Cathedral  congregation,  be- 
ing under  the  immediate  supervision 
of  the  Bishop,  shall  be  regulated  by 
special  rules,  as  the  various  personal 
and  local  qualities  and  circumstances 
shall  make  it  advisable. 

"The  above  stated  support  al- 
lowance is  not  regulated  by  any 
other  laws  than  those  of  the 
Church  in  general  for  this  Mis- 
sion-country, as  explained  by  the  last 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
particular  regulation  of  the  Diocese, 
wherein  the  Bishop,  not  deeming  himself 
obliged  to  allow  any  definite  sum,  in 
sending  the  Missionaries  ordained  upon 
the  title  of  the  mission  to  the  various 
congregations,  is  only  limiting  how  much, 
and  no  more,  he  may  retain,  according  to 
the  revenue  of  each  mission.     Any  con- 


gregation of  the  people,  who  will  not 
accordingly  support  their  Missionary, 
shall  become  liable  to  be  deprived  of  his 
services. 

"All  fathers  of  families,  and  every 
single  man  depending  on  his  own  re- 
sources for  maintenance  are  herein 
called  upon  to  be  regular  contributors 
toward  the  wants  of  the  Diocese  in  s:en- 


REV.     MICHAEL     WEIS. 

eral,  and  of  their  own  Parish  in  particu- 
lar. 

"The  extraordinary  collections  in  the 
Diocese  are :  on  Christmas  for  the  or- 
phans; on  Easter  for  the  Seminarians' 
fund ;  at  the  official  pastoral  visitation  by 
the  Ordinary  of  the  Diocese,  for  the  ex- 
penses of  that  occasion,  the  balance,  if 
any,  on  the  Cathedraticum;  on  the  Sun- 


296 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


day  within  the  octava  of  the  Saints  Peter 
and  Paul,  for  the  Cathedral;  and,  this 
year  being  the  Holy  Father's  Golden 
Jubilee,  the  clergy  and  laymen,  young 
and  old,  will  contribute  toward  a  special 
collection  for  the  Pope,  on  the  Sunday 
within  the  octava  of  the  Assumption  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

"Before  the  last  day  of  January  of  each 
year,  the  Missionary  shall  forward  to  the 
Bishop  the  annual  financial  report  of  the 
administration  of  the  revenues  and  ex- 
penses of  the  church,  signed  by  himself 
and  countersigned  by  at  least  two  lay- 
members  of  the  congregation,  not  be- 
longing to  the  committee,  who  have  ex- 
amined the  accounts.  This  annual 
financial  report  shall  be  published  by  the 
Missionary  to  the  congregation  on  the 
first  Sunday  of  February  of  each  year. 

"In  every  case  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
the  church  must  be  paid  before  any  of  the 
revenues  may  be  appropriated  for  any 
other  purpose;  and  no  expenses  shall  be 
made  that  would  exceed  each  year's  in- 
C(  mie. 

"Upon  occasion  of  the  Episcopal  visit, 
whether  of  confirmation  or  any  other,  the 
priest  shall  place  before  the  Bishop  the 
account  books  of  the  church  and  congre- 
gation, and  in  no  case  shall  he  feel  justi- 
fied in  neglecting  this  rule.  The  same 
recount  books  shall  always  be  open  for 
the  examination  of  the  Bishop,  or  any 
priest  delegated  by  the  Bishop  for  that 
purpose. 

"Neither  the  church,  nor  church  prop- 
erty, nor  any  building  of  the  said  pn  >p- 
erty,  shall  be  held  responsible  or  become 
liable  for  any  debt  contracted,  or  for  any 
sum  of  money  borrowed  by  the  priest, 
or  by  the  committee,  or  by  both  the  priest 


and  the  committee,  except  the  written 
permission  of  the  Bishop  has  been  given 
for  such  debt,  or  loan,  and  only  and  solely 
for  that  sum  and  amount  specified  in  and 
by  said  permission  of  the  Bishop.  And 
such  debt,  if  made,  or  such  loan  negoti- 
ated, shall  be  at  once  entered  in  the  regu- 
lar accounts  of  the  church,  and  registered 
on  a  separate  page,  with  the  time  when 
due,  and  what  interest,  if  any,  it  calls  for; 
and  in  such  a  case  each  congregation  is 
held  responsible  for  their  own  debts  thus 
contracted. 

"No  priest  in  this  Diocese  is  authorized 
to  receive  any  sum  of  money  on  deposit. 
It  is,  and  must  be  distinctly  understood, 
that  if  any  person  deposits  money  into  the 
hands  of  any  priest,  he  alone  is  responsi- 
ble for  the  money. 

"Any  real  estate  bought  or  donated  for 
the  use  or  the  benefit  of  any  church  in 
this  Diocese  must  be  deeded  in  'fee 
simple'  to  the  Bishop,  i.e.,  in  the  Bishop's 
name,  without  any  prefix  of  title,  and 
without  any  coin!  if  ions  whatever  in  the 
instrument.  If  these  conditions  are  not 
complied  with,  the  deed  cannot  be  ac- 
cepted and  the  missionary  cannot  allow 
the  deed  to  be  recorded.  If  deeds  are 
obtained  and  recorded,  they  must  be  for- 
warded immediately  to  the  Bishop. 

"Every  congregation  in  the  Diocese, 
where  there  is  a  resident  priest,  must  have 
the  pastoral  residence  provided  with  the 
necessary  furniture,  according  to  their 
means,  and  no  priest  shall,  upon  any  ex- 
cuse, be  permitted  to  claim  the  furniture 
which  was  purchased  by  the  congregation 
fi  ir  the  parochial  residence  as  his  personal 
property. 

"Every  presiding  priest  in  our  Diocese 
shall  keep  the  books  of  'status  animarum' 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


297 


-  u      . 

•P  « s  s 


-a;  a 
— "^  ~'    22 

a-5  .  a 
l3  .  • >  ■  ° 

.  Hoi  a  .. 

i-^Pi    .  « if 

>     —    N  N 

to  *  ~  —  r 
ni  ^  ^  nS 

">.   -o*  £< 

■;--      2    - 
«   ■  >-  > 


•>     -  2  .  - 

D  IS"  S  n3 

g  -  <  - 

3  rt  -{§  >"*' 

""    -  -   .  -r ■  u 

z  '5  »-^ 


eJ  |  -  ,;  2  S 
B3CQ  3  rf  i; 


- 


-«>  ~*t 


:  o 


•  o  w  o  t'. 


298 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


of  his  respective  mission,  wherein  the 
necessary  annotations  regarding  the  con- 
tributions, etc.,  and  the  general  govern- 
ment, shall  be  made  according  to  above 
regulations.  This  book  shall  be  placed 
before  the  Bishop  at  the  time  of  his  pas- 
toral visit. 

"A  society  not  approved  of  by  the  Bish- 
op as  a  religious  one,  cannot  be  permitted 
in  the  church,  wearing  the  regalia  of  the 
association  upon  occasion  of  any  religious 
ceremony;  all  other  societies,  though 
composed  of  Catholics,  are  only  tolerated, 
and  they  must  therefore  have  especial 
permission  from  the  Ordinary  of  the 
Diocese  to  turn  out  officially  on  the 
occasion  of  any  religious  ceremony.  All 
societies    now    existing    in    our    Diocese 


must  send  in  their  constitutions  for  ap- 
probation by  the  Bishop. 

"These  rules  and  regulations  shall  be 
explained  by  the  officiating  priest  in  the 
different  languages  spoken  by  the  con- 
gregation ;  and  they  shall  be  published 
to  the  respective  congregations  on  one 
Sunday  in  January  of  each  year.  A  copy 
of  same  shall  be  framed  and  hung  in 
some  conspicuous  place  in  every  church. 

"The  above  rules  and  regulations 
shall  remain  in  force  until  by  us  amended 
or  revoked. 

»t>JOHN   Vertin, 
IJislwp   of   Sault   Ste.    Marie   and   Mar- 
quette, M ieli., 

Marquette,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Purifi- 
cation B.  V.  M.,  the  Jnd  of  February, 
A.  D.  1887." 


Chapter     XII. 

Bishop  Vertin's  pastoral  on  education. — Pastoral  on  religious  societies  and  holy 

Communion  of  reparation. — 77k'  first  Pro-Synodal  Conference. — His 

Sileer  Jubilee. — His  second  visit  ad  limina. — His 

sickness  and  his  death. 


Moulding  his  diocese,  Bishop  Vertin 
well  understood  that  its  future  progress 
depended  not  so  much  on  the  external 
laws  he  was  framing  as  upon  the  internal 
dispositions  of  those  whom  they  con- 
cerned. He  took  the  utmost  pains  to 
make  his  diocesans  understand  that  they 
are  not  calculated  to  destroy  the  least  of 
their  civil  liberties  but  rather  to  further 
their  happiness  ami  .prosperity,  because 
true  liberty  and  obligations  to  the  state 
and  God  are  inseparable,  and  man  is 
never  freer  than  when  he  moves  within 
the  limit  of  the  law  of  the  state  in  which 
he  lives,  and  since  every  state  is  within 
the  domain  of  God,  man  is  evidently  not 
bound  only  by  the  laws  of  the  state,  but 
of  God  as  well.  The  Bishop  pointed  out 
at  every  opportunity  that  only  a  faithful 
performance  of  one's  duties  leads  to  a 
sweet  repose.  "One  of  the  chief  duties," 
he  used  to  say,  "are  those  of  the  parents 
towards  their  children,  and  of  the  chil- 
dren towards  their  parents."  The  latter 
will  always  follow  the  former  as  a  con- 
sequence. If  parents  accomplish  their 
dutv,  the  children  will  do  theirs  as  a  mat- 


ter of  course.  Hence,  in  his  Lenten  Pas- 
toral for  1884,  he  says:  "Impressed  with 
the  obligation  of  speaking  to  you  on  the 
duties  to  be  fulfilled  and  the  dangers  to 
salvation  to  be  avoided,  we  deem  it  best 
t<  1  address  you  at  the  approach  of  the 
holy  Lenten  season,  on  the  most  import- 
ant subject.  Christian  Education. 

"Education  is  a  vital  question  of  our 
times.  In  'this  matter  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  has  sounded  the  key-note,  and 
bishops  ami  priests  are  in  duty  bound  to 
echo  his  voice,  calling  for  religious  in- 
struction as  the  only  effectual  safeguard 
for  the  preservation  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion from  the  dangers  that  imperil  their 
faith  ami  morals.  Popular  existing  errors 
regarding  religious  education  arise  only 
from  the  incorrect  idea  of  the  term.  The 
verb  to  educate,  derived  from  the  Latin, 
means  to  bring  out — to  develop  the  in- 
tellectual, the  moral,  and  the  religious 
faculties  of  the  soul. 

"An  education,  therefore,  which  im- 
proves the  mind  only,  and  neglects  the 
moral  and  the  religious  training,  is  at  best 
an  imperfect  and  mutilated  system,  simi- 


300 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


lar  to  the  one  which  existed  among  the 
ancient  pagans,  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
who  knew  not  the  true  God  nor  His  re- 
vealed religion ;  where  people  were 
trained  for  their  avocations  in  life,  ir- 
respective of  any  other  obedience  than  to 
the  voice  of  their  earthly  master, 
who  himself  was  ignorant  that  he 
had  a  Master  in  Heaven,  with 
Whom  there  is  no  acceptance  of 
persons. 

"Education  should  begin  at  the 
cradle.  Whether  this  education  is 
considered  from  a  Catholic  or  an 
American  point  of  view,  it  must  be 
such  as  to  bring  best  results  for 
America  and  religion.  Man  being 
composed  of  soul  and  body,  is  sub- 
ject to  the  state  and  church,  his  edu- 
cation must  be  two- fold,  making  a 
good  citizen  of  him  in  this  world, 
and  preparing  him  for  the  citizenship 
of  Heaven.  Nor  can  the  last  one  be 
shorter  than  the  first.  Both  are  of 
a  life's  duration  and  their  object  is 
to  develop  the  faculties  which  the  all- 
wise  Creator  has  deposited  in  in- 
dividual persons.  The  great  law  of 
man  is  progress,  and  progress  is  in  educa- 
tion, as  it  is  also  the  fundamental  object 
of  man's  intelligence.  When  men  become 
conscious  that  they  are  ignorant,  selfish, 
narrow-minded,  and  miserable,  when  they 
are  dissatisfied  with  their  limited  store  of 
knowldege  and  long  to  become  better, 
nobler,  and  more  enlightened,  what  is 
that  but  a  desire  for  education  and  a  plain 
confession  but  that  it  has  been  neglected. 
And,  man,  arrived  at  the  use  of  reason, 
soon  finds  out  this  lack  of  proper  equip- 
ment for  life,  for  when  a  simple  conver- 
sation is  introduced  which  they  know  to 


be  beyond  their  attainments,  when  they 
mix  up  with  fellow  men  whose  knowl- 
edge and  intelligence  is  superior  to  theirs, 
they  become  restless  and  dissatisfied, 
finding  themselves  wanting  in  the  educa- 
tion and  culture  to  which  their  faculties 


REV.    ANDREW    HENDERSON. 


fully  entitle  them,  hail  only  opportunities 
been  given  them  to  grasp  that  which  now 
so  woefully  escapes  them. 

"Christian  education,  being  of  a  last- 
ing character,  should  be  of  longer  term 
than  the  secular  (education).  It  should 
begin,  not  with  the  school  year,  but  in 
the  closest  family  circle,  where  children, 
on  account  of  their  tender  age.  will  all 
the  more  readily  be  impressed  with  the 
Christian  example  of  their  parents,  their 
fear  of  the  Lord,  obedience,  respect  and 
reverence  to  all  lawfully  constituted  au- 
thority,   including    that    for   themselves, 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


301 


and  where  the  inculcation  of  these  prin- 
ciples demands  the  requisition  of  the  rod, 
it  slmuld  not  be  spared  according  to  that 
of  Solomon :  'He  that  spareth  the  rod 
neglecteth  his  son,  but  he  that  loveth  him 
correcteth  him  betimes.'  The  same  author 
elsewhere  says :  'Bow  down  his  neck 
whilst  he  is  young,  lest  he  grow  stubborn 
and  regard  thee  not,  and  so  be  a  sorrow 
of  heart  to  thee.' 

"Following  the  advice  of  the  same 
wise  man,  we  say:  'Instruct  thy  son  and 
he  shall  refresh  thee,  and  shall  give  de- 
light to  thy  soul,'  and  thus  shall  Christian 
parents  see  the  blessings  descend  upon 
themselves  and  upon  their  children's  chil- 
dren, and  the  Christian  home  education 
will  be  easily  perfected  in  the  Catholic 
schools  and  by  the  Church  at  large. 

"The  Catholic  Church  has  always  been 
the  great  educator  of  nations  and  of  in- 
dividuals. She  has  been  the  fostering 
mother,  the  munificent  patroness  of  secu- 
lar education,  and  from  the  sixth  to  the 
sixteenth  century,  she  was  looked  upon 
as  the  light  of  nations,  when  her  priests 
and  monks  were  the  only  educators  and 
teachers  uniting  secular  science  with  the 
religious,  in  establishing  free  schools 
throughout  Europe  for  the  education  of 
the  great  masses.  Bishops  and  priests 
throughout  Christendom  founded  schools, 
which  in  due  course  of  time  developed 
into  academies,  colleges,  seminaries,  and 
universities;  this  undeniable  fact  more 
than  sufficiently  repudiates  the  prejudice 
arising  from  ignorance  or  malice  of  our 
adversaries,  when  they  say  that  our  Holy 
Church  does  not  foster  universal  instruc- 
tion. As  in  those  days,  so  in  our  own, 
the  church  everywhere  cares  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  suitable  institutions;  and 


we  must  commit  the  education  of  our 
youth  to  this  spiritual  mother,  that  the 
principle  of  home  education  may  be  de- 
veloped, and  your  children  fitted,  accord- 
ing to  their  talents,  to  follow  the  various 
avocations  of  life,  that  they  may  live  and 
die  as  good  citizens,  and  faithful  Chris- 
tians. For  this  end,  the  Church  has  the 
right  and  duty  to  direct  the  faithful  to 
contribute  towards  establishing  Catholic 
schools  as  soon  as  possible  and  conven- 
ient in  every  parish ;  schools  under  man- 
agement of  capable  religious  teachers ; 
schools  which  will  be  able  to  compete  in 
all  grades  with  other  secular  institutions. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  sacred  duty  incumbent 
upon  all  Catholic,  parents,  not  only  to 
send  their  children  to  such  institutions, 
but  to  contribute  towards  their  establish- 
ment and  maintenance. 

"It  is  not  for  us  here  to  discuss  the 
question  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  on 
the  part  of  the  state  to  tax  Catholics  for 
the  support  of  public  schools  while  they 
maintain  their  own,  but  we  admonish  you 
by  means  of  this  Pastoral,  as  well  as 
through  your  pastors,  to  whose  spiritual 
care  we  have  committed  you,  to  spare  no 
means  in  order  to  give  your  children  a 
thorough  Catholic  education,  which  in 
this  Country  is  far  more  necessary  than 
in  Catholic  countries,  on  account  of  the 
many  sects  by  which  we  are  surrounded, 
and  whose  influence,  which,  indeed,  may 
not  endanger  the  loss  of  faith,  does  at 
least  lead  the  youth  to  imbibe  a  spirit  of 
indifference  in  the  practice  of  their  relig- 
ious duties,  and  engenders  a  sinful  lax- 
ity, which  not  seldom  leads  such  Catho- 
lics to  sin  and  crime  and  their  downfall ; 
instead  of  being  traced  to  the  neglect  of 
their  parents,  and  lack  of  Christian  edu- 


302 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


cation,  is  only  too  often  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  Catholic  church. 

"We  have  no  intention  of  burdening 
you  too  much,  but  expect  that  wherever 
a  parochial  school  is  possible,  one  will  be 
erected  without  delay,  and  we  shall  re- 
quire of  the  religious  instructors  an  exact 
account  of  their  annual  revenues  and  ex- 
penditures, that  we  may  learn  and  know 
the  spirit  of  each  congregation  and  give 
them  the  counsel  or  remonstrance  at 
the  time  of  our  annual  pastorial 
visitation. 

"We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood 
as  if  wanting  to  undervalue  the  ad- 
vantages of  secular  education,  but 
for  this  very  reason,  wish  to  have  pa- 
rochial schools  erected  everywhere, 
that  secular  and  religious  education 
may  go  hand  in  hand,  and  thus  our 
young  men  and  women  may  not  be 
wanting  in  anything  in  their  jour- 
ney through  life.  Religious  and 
secular  education  cannot  be  divorced 
from  each  other,  without  it  ceasing 
to  be  an  education.  Such  separation 
would  only  paralyze  moral  faculties 
and  foment  a  spirit  of  indifference 
in  matters  of  faith.  If  secular 
education  is  a  means  of  earning  a 
livelihood  for  the  body,  the  religious 
education  should  be  the  source  of 
nourishment  for  the  soul.  Hence,  the  in- 
tellectual and  moral  training  must  go  hand 
in  hand,  and  each  must  become  the  sup- 
port of  the  other.  Our  religious  in- 
structions must  shed  a  light  upon  all  our 
actions;  without  this  spiritual  guidance, 
the  secular  education  may  prove  to  us  a 
curse  instead  of  a  blessing  How  often 
does  it  not  happen  that  young  people, 
whose   religious   training  has   been   neg- 


lected, fall  heir  to  great  estates,  but  with 
all  their  wealth  they  seldom  reflect  credit 
upon  their  family  or  even  their  country. 
Their  wealth  is  frequently  but  a  stumb- 
ling block  in  becoming  useful  members  of 
the  community,  an  excuse  for  idleness 
and  an  endless  source  of  sinfulness  and 
crime.  The  many  crimes  recorded  in  our 
dailies  will  but  too  fully  demonstrate  our 
assertion.      We,   therefore,   earnestlv  ex- 


REV.    C.    F.    SCHELHAMMER. 

hort  you  to  co-operate  with  your  pastors 
in  their  endeavors  to  establish  and  sup- 
port a  parochial  school,  lest  the  words  of 
the  scripture  be  applied  to  you,  'or  if  any 
man  have  not  care  of  his  own,  and  es- 
pecially of  those  of  his  house,  he  hath 
denied  his  faith  and  is  worse  than  an  in- 
fidel;   (I  Tim.  V.  8.) 

"What  an  object  of  joy  it  will  be  to  yon, 
if.  having  given  your  children  a  Christian 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


303 


education,  you  know  in  your  declining 
years  that  your  children  will  not  only  in- 
herit your  name  and  your  fortune,  but  as 
well  your  faith,  with  its  works  and  vir- 
tues? How  gratifying  will  it  be  to  you 
to  know  that  when  you  shall  be  no  more, 
the  place  in  the  community  and  in  the 
church,  vacated  by  you,  will  be  filled  by 
your  sons  and  daughters,  who  will  per- 
petuate your  memory  throughout  the 
coming  generations.  When  your  chil- 
dren enter  the  temple  of  God,  and  re- 
member that  under  Him  they  owe  to  you 
not  only  their  existence  but  also  their 
faith,  and,  likewise,  following  your  ex- 
ample, your  good  works,  and  wishes, 
praying  for  the  repose  of  your  soul,  'will 
rise  up  and  call  you  blessed."  (Prov. 
XXXI.  28.)" 

This  appeal  did  not  fall  on  deaf  ears. 
Wherever  a  school  was  at  all  possible, 
efforts  were  made  to  erect  one.  In  Ish- 
peming  the  St.  John's  school  opened 
doors  that  same  year.  But  still  there 
were  many  more  places  which  could  not 
afford  a  school.  Of  these  the  Bishop  was 
not  forgetful  either.  He  enjoined  it  upon 
the  pastors  to  give  regular  Catechetical 
instruction  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays; 
and  to  exercise  good  care  that  children 
of  their  parishes  and  dependent  missions 
receive  an  opportunity  to  learn  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine.  Priests  were  also  obliged 
to  hear  children's  confessions  every  Em- 
ber week.  This  unaccustomed  activity 
stirred  many  an  indifferent  Catholic  from 
his  spiritual  lethargy,  and,  for  all  of  that, 
evoked  adverse  remarks,  to  which  the 
Bishop  replied,  in  the  next  year's  Pas- 
toral :  "As  of  right,  we  are  reminding 
you  again  of  the  spiritual  education  of 
your  children,  which  subject  should  claim 


most  of  your  attention.  All  whose  eyes 
are  open,  and  whose  experience  in  this 
country  embraces  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years,  clearly  see,  that  unless  children  are 
trained,  nurtured  and  schooled,  under 
Catholic  influences  and  teachings,  they 
will  be  lost  to  God's  church.  The  only  ar- 
gument brought  by  half-Catholics  against 
the  establishment  of  Catholic  schools  for 
Catholic  children,  is  that  one  of  expense. 
It  costs  money  to  support  schools ;  so  it 
does  to  support  churches.  The  school  is 
as  necessary  fur  the  child  as  the  church 
is  for  the  parents.  Better  than  all  other 
arguments  with  regard  to  this  obligation 
of  providing  Catholic  education  for  Cath- 
olic children,  are  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
See,  as  made  known  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  Bishops  of  the  United  States.  No 
Catholic  is  in  harmony  with  the  Church 
who  maintains  opinions  opposed  to  these 
teachings."  ]  Another  well  measured  step 
was  taken  by  the  Bishop,  when,  continu- 
ing in  the  same  Pastoral,  he  said :  "A 
great  help  in  the  Catholic  education  of 
children  is  to  be  found  in  providing  them 
with  good  reading;  not  alone  for  the  chil- 
dren is  this  helpful,  but  for  adults  as  well. 
The  power  of  the  press,  for  good  or  for 
evil,  is  felt  in  every  house  in  the  land. 
So  many  read  the  newspapers,  that  those 
few  who  do  not,  come  under  the  influence 
of  those  who  do.  We  warn  the  parents 
against  the  danger  of  permitting  un- 
wholesome reading  of  any  kind.  They 
must,  therefore,  watch  the  newspaper, 
the  novel,  the  magazine,  and  the  books 
which  find  their  way  into  the  home. 
Sometimes  the  poison  in  the  newspapers 
lingers  in  the  unsuspected  advertisement; 
then  in  stories  of  doubtful  character;  then 


1  Pastoral.  January  25,  1885. 


304 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


it  is  found  in  sneers  and  slurs  against  re- 
ligion and  its  ministers;  and  lastly,  in 
the  contributed  article,  and  not  least  in 
the  editorial.  It  is  not,  however,  enough 
to  exclude  corrupt  and  dangerous  liter- 
ature from  the  house;  an  ample  supply 
of  good  reading  should  be  provided.  In 
every  family  there  should  be  a  newspaper 
which  is  in  harmony  with  Catholic  teach- 
ing, in  sympathy  with  the  church  work. 


REV.   JOHN    REICHENBACH. 

A  good  Catholic  newspaper  keeps  up  dur- 
ing the  week  the  pastor's  Sunday  work 
by  treating  of  subjects  good  for  the  par- 
ishioners to  be  familiar  with  which  can- 
not be  touched  upon  in  the  pulpit.  Read- 
ing should  not  be  confined  to  newspapers 
only,  but  should  extend  more  so  to  read- 
ing of  good,  pious  instructive  Catholic 
books,    explaining    its    faith,    command- 


ments and  practices,  so  that  Catholics 
will  be  able  to  defend  their  holy  religion 
when  attacked  by  out-siders." 

Following  the  Apostolic  spirit,  Bishop 
Vertin  was  anxious  that  his  people  should 
learn  to  pray.  He  ordained-  that  the 
Priest  say  the  'Angelus,'  and  during  Eas- 
ter time  the  'Regina  coeli'  in  the  vernac- 
ular tongue,  on  all  Sundays  and  holy- 
davs  of  obligation  after  the  last  Mass, 
with  the  people,  that  they  may  accustom 
themselves  to  recite  them  privately  daily. 
His  circulars  are  permeated  with  ad- 
monitions to  pastors  to  pray  in  common 
with  their  people,  not  only  on  Sundays 
but  after  the  Mass  on  week-days,  and  in 
particular  for  the  souls  in  purgatory,  for 
the  benefactors  of  the  diocese,  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  for  the  faithful  de- 
parted, for  'it  is  a  holy  and  wholesome 
thought  to  pray  for  the  dead  that  they 
may  be  loosed  from  their  sins.'  (Mach. 
XII.  46.) 

By  the  Circular  of  1886,  the  Bishop 
announced  that  by  the  Apostolic  decree 
of  November  25,  1885,  pursuant  to  the 
recommendations  of  the  Third  Plenary 
Council,  the  holy-days  in  the  United 
States  have  been  reduced  to  six,  viz :  Im- 
maculate Conception,  Nativity  of  our 
Lord  or  Christmas,  New  Year  or  Cir- 
cumcision of  our  Lord,  Ascension  of  our 
Lord,  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
and  All  Saints;  but  he  commended  ac- 
cording to  the  wishes  of  the  Holy  Father, 
to  celebrate  the  abrogated  feasts  of  An- 
nunciation, Epiphany  and  Corpus  Christi 
the  Sunday  within  their  octave.  By  the 
same  Letter  the  Bishop  prescribed  the  use 
of    the     Baltimore    Catechism 


leaving 


Pastoral   1884. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


305 


others,  already  in  use,  for  higher  instruc- 
tion. 

The  Pastoral  of  1887  the  Bishop  de- 
voted to  the  aims  of  the  Propagation  of 
Faith,  and  in  connection  with  it  orders 
'the  pastors  of  souls  to  read  the  Passion 
of  our  Lord,  in  the  language  spoken  by 
the  congregation,  on  Palm  Sunday  or 
during  the  Holy  Week,  at  the  evening 
services.' — "Finally  we  exhort  the  pas- 
tors to  explain  to  their  people  the  obliga- 
tions which  the  last  Council  of  Baltimore 
imposes  upon  them ;  especially  those 
which  refer  to  the  observances  of  the 
Sunday,  to  the  religious  education  of 
their  children,  their  duty  of  supporting 
the  church  and  schools." 

As  subject  for  the  Pastoral  of  1888  the 
Bishop  took  up  "Societies,  in  order  that 
those  conducive  to  good  may  be  encour- 
aged, and  those  tending  to  evil  discoun- 
tenanced as  dangerous  to  Christian  faith 
and  morals,  and  that  our  people  be 
dissuaded  from  joining  them;  while 
others  still  be  condemned  and  henceforth 
shunned  as  nominally  forbidden  by  the 
infallible  teaching  of  our  Holy  Church." 

The  Bishop  first  encourages  the  es- 
tablishment of  purely  religious  societies 
and  sodalities  in  each  parish  under  the  im- 
mediate supervision  of  local  pastors ;  then 
he  recommends  the  introduction  of  Con- 
fraternities and  Associations,  such  as  the 
Society  for  a  Happy  Death,  the  Apostle- 
ship  of  Prayer,  but  above  all  the  Taber- 
nacle Society,  "which  effects  great  good 
in  the  poor  missions  of  this  new  country 
where  existing  churches,  and  new  ones  to 
be  erected,  are  and  will  be  in  need  of  ar- 
ticles for  the  altar,  vestments  and  access- 
ories for  the  celebration  of  divine  service 
and  where  the  poor  people,  coming  in  al- 


most destitute,  have  not  the  means  where- 
with to  supply  these  necessaries." 

The  good  Bishop  had  reason  to  speak 
so  well  of  this  Society,  for  he  received 
annually  large  shipments  of  every  kind 
of  linens,  vestments  and  other  useful  fur- 
nishings from  the  Tabernacle  Society  in 
Philadelphia,  and  was  in  turn  happy,  deal- 
ing out  to  the  visiting  priests  whatever 
they  stood  in  need  of.  He  saw  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  the  Society's  labors  and 
therefore  anxious  that  the  diocese  should 
also  contribute  a  quota  of  membership. 
"The  conditions  for  admission  into  the 
Society  and  the  spiritual  benefits  attached 
to  membership  will  be  announced  to  the 
congregation  at  the  time  of  the  Forty 
lb  airs'  Adoration  in  each  mission  of  the 
diocese."  Here  he  directed  each  pastor  to 
state  the  date  of  the  Forty  Hours,  and 
then  gave  the  following  history  of  the 
Society : 

"This  association  was  founded  at 
Brussels,  Belgium,  through  the  piety  and 
zeal  of  Anna  de  Meeus,  but  feeling  her- 
self and  her  few  holy  companions  un- 
equal to  the  task  of  conducting  so  exten- 
sive a  work,  and  in  order  that  the  asso- 
ciation might  more  surely  attain  its  pro- 
posed end,  she  instituted  a  religious  con- 
gregation as  an  aid  to  its  work,  and  to  be 
as  it  were,  a  centre  to  awaken  and  propa- 
gate a  love  and  reverence  for  the  most 
Holy  Eucharist  and  the  Sacred  Heart. 
(At  the  invitation  of  the  late  venerable 
Pontiff  Pius  IX.  we,  in  our  diocese,  years 
ago,  in  accord  with  the  whole  Christian 
world,  consecrated  ourselves  to  the  work 
of  promoting  this  devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart).  Accordingly  a  house  of  religious 
Sisters  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration  was 
founded  at  Brussels  in  the  year  1857,  and 


306 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


the  devout  Anna  was  appointed  Superior 
General.  It  has  since  spread  over  several 
dioceses,  to  the  advantage  and  profit  of 
the  Church,  and  has  been  approved  by  the 
Apostolic  See  by  a  decree  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  Bishops  and  Regulars,  dated 
April  8th,  1872.  The  association  out  of 
which  this  religious  congregation  had 
sprung,  and  to  which  it  was  united  by  the 
closest  bond,  after  rendering  many  ser- 
vices to  the  Church,  was  first  hon- 
ored with  the  title  of  Arch-Associa- 
tion by  Pius  IX.  by  letters  Apostolic, 
May  6th,  1853.  and  on  June  16th  of 
the  same  vear  he  enriched  it  with 
numerous  other  privileges  and  in- 
dulgences, together  with  the  permis- 
sion  to  affiliate  to  itself  other  asso- 
ciations having  the  same  name  and 
object.  Finally,  as  the  Sisters  of 
the  aforesaid  congregation  had  es- 
tablished a  house  in  Rome,  the  cen- 
tre of  Catholicism,  in  order  that 
an  Arch-Association  so  fruitful  in 
good  might,  with  God's  blessing, 
extend  more  and  more,  by  a  decree 
of  the  Congregation  of  Indulgences 
and  Sacred  Relics,  another  Arch- 
Association  existing  in  Rome,  hav- 
ing the  same  object,  but  erected 
later,  has,  by  the  tenor  of  that  de- 
cree, united  with  the  said  Arch-As- 
sociation transferred  to  Rome.  This  af- 
filiation was  made  according  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  Clement  VIII.  which  requires 
that  no  two  Arch-Associations  having 
the  same  name  and  object  can  exist  in  the 
same  place.  The  Rules  of  the  said  Arch- 
Association  were  approved  by  a  Decree 
of  the  Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Reg- 
ulars, dated  Jan.  12th,  1880.  There  are 
branch  associations  in  the  United  States 


at  Philadelphia  and  Washington,  where 
members  may  apply  for  admission  either 
individually,  or  in  aggregate,  not  having 
any  such  Association  in  their  own  mis- 
sion. 

"In  the  present  wide  spread  devotion 
to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  the  Holy 
Eucharist  is  the  object  of  our  worship. 
and  this  Sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood 
of    jesus    Christ,    once    sacrificed    in    a 


REV.    T.    I'.    MAZURET. 

hi.  >ody  manner  for  all  mankind  does  now, 
in  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and 
through  holy  Communion,  apply  to  indi- 
vidual souls  the  merits  of  Christ,  ob- 
tained for  us  on  the  Cross.  To  confess 
Jesus  Christ  present  in  the  Eucharist  is 
the  sublimest  act  of  faith  made  in  the 
world  since  the  Incarnation.  By  it  are 
confuted  all  heresies  touching  the  Per- 
son and  Divinity  of  Christ  incarnate,  and 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


307 


by  a  belief  in  the  Real  Presence  we  con- 
found all  the  false  philosophy  which 
would  bring  everything,  even  the  Infinite 
God  Himself,  under  the  laws  of  matter, 
time  and  space.  The  members  of  the 
Tabernacle  Society  bind  themselves  es- 
pecially to  the  adoration  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  and  to  draw  others  through 
said  Society  to  this  devotion.  They  con- 
dole with  our  dear  Savior  on  the  coldness 
and  indifference  of  some,  even  members 
of  the  true  Church,  and  thus  they  seek 
to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  sacrificed  Sav- 
ior, to  be  known  and  loved  by  his  re- 
deemed people.  The  principal  means  they 
employ  to  glorify  Jesus  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  are :  to  labor  for  the  increase 
of  the  association;  to  exercise  a  salutary 
influence  on  souls;  and  to  take  a  par- 
ticular interest  in  poor  and  destitute 
Churches,  in  which  the  sacrament  of  love 
is  not  properly  accompanied  and  sur- 
rounded, by  at  least  the  external  marks 
and  evidence  of  living  faith. 

"The  Associates  of  the  society  select 
for  expiation  certain  sins  that  directly 
touch  the  honor  of  the  most  Blessed  Sac- 
rament. In  our  country  there  is  consid- 
erable infidelity,  not  perhaps  of  the  vic- 
ious and  blasphemous  type  so  familiar  to 
Europe,  but  closely  approaching  it  by  sure 
and  steady  degrees.  The  intense  devo- 
tions to  wealth,  and  to  the  mere  pleasure 
of  worldly  life,  destroy  in  man  even  the 
the  natural  aspirations  towards  the  Di- 
vinity, as  our  last  end.  For  this  total  for- 
getfulness  of  God,  the  associates  will 
strive  to  make  reparation  to  Him  who  is 
ignored  or  even  denied  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  creation. 

"Heresy  also  calls  for  special  acts  of 
faith  in  the  Church,  and  in  the  dogfma  of 


the  Eucharist,  which  is  denied  or  per- 
verted by  all  the  sects,  even  those  which 
retain  certain  ritualistic  forms.  The  true 
faith  is  unerringly  professed  in  but  one 
church — our  own.  It  is,  alas!  a  frightful 
possibility  that  Jesus  may  be  received  into 
an  unworthy  and  sacrilegious  breast. 
The  name  of  ( rod,  and  the  sweet  name  of 
Jesus,  are  recklessly  blasphemed.  Here 
is  another  matter  for  reparation.  The 
neglect  of  hearing  AJass  on  Sunday;  the 
indifference  of  many  towards  the  after- 
noon Sunday  Service,  and  to  the  grace 
of  Benediction ;  the  carelessness  in  at- 
tendance on  other  occasions  when  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed  for  public 
adoration;  are  all  subjects  of  reparation 
lor  the  devout  associate.  The  mind  be- 
ing directed  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  to 
this  memorial  of  the  wondrous  works  of 
God,  soon  becomes  absorbed  in  contem- 
plation, love  and  desire  for  the  Divine 
Glory.  This  august  Sacrament  becomes 
a  mirror  in  which  we  behold  the  Omnip- 
i  'tence,  the  Love,  and  the  Infinite  Wis- 
dom of  God.  We  begin  to  form  some 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  Incarnation  of 
which  the  Eucharist  is  the  complement, 
for  Jesus  Christ  is  seen  communicating 
himself  to  every  soul  which  he  came  to 
redeem.  He  is  not  merely  a  historical 
personage  who  lived,  spoke  and  died 
nineteen  centuries  ago  in  one  part  of  the 
world,  and  amidst  a  small  tribe  of  the 
human  family.  By  the  Eucharist  He  is 
placed  in  direct  communication  with  all 
men,  in  all  ages,  thus  carrying  to  its  high- 
est point  the  ineffable  and  infinite  sweet- 
ness and  power  of  His  Incarnation."  3 

Concerning   the    secular    Catholic    So- 


Pastoral,  dated  January  20,  18 


308 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


cieties  the  Bishop  lays  down  the  follow- 
ing rules :  '"There  are  still  other  organ- 
izations, national  or  social,  composed 
only  of  Catholic  members;  for  the  direc- 
tion of  these  we  will  say  that,  if  they  wish 
to  be  recognized  by  the  Church  as  true 
Catholic  societies,  they  will  please  take 
notice  of  the  following  conditions  re- 
quired by  us,  and  on  which  they  will  be 
allowed  to  enter  the  Church  in  a  body 
and  wearing  Regalia,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  religious  ceremonies. 

ist.  They  must  be  practical 
Catholics,  by  making  their  Easter 
duty. 

2nd.  They  must  be  regular  con- 
tributors towards  any  collection  for 
Church,  school,  or  other  religious 
purpose,  and  send  their  children  to 
Catholic  schools. 

3rd.  They  must  hold  a  pew  or  a 
seat  in  the  church,  or  must  contri- 
bute annually  towards  the  church 
according  to  their  means,  if  not  too 
poor. 

4th.  They  shall  not  give  any 
public  balls  or  dances  in  their  name ; 
and  finally,  must  strictly  abide  by 
the  laws  of  the  Church,  and  the 
rules  of  the  diocese. 

"If  these  societies  have  banners  on 
which  a  Saint  is  pictured,  they 
should  be  blessed  and  never  afterwards 
carried  through  the  streets  on  a  merely 
secular  demonstration,  when  other  flags 
and  banners  may  be  used.  This  regula- 
tion is  according  to  a  decree  of  the  holy 
Office  dated  Oct.  3rd,  1887.  Of  societies 
composed  of  Catholics  and  mixed  sects, 
organized  especially  amongst  working 
men  and  mechanics,  for  a  mutual,  benefi- 
cial or  charitable  purpose,  we  would  re- 


mark, that,  though  not  actually  condemn- 
ed by  the  Holy  See,  they  are  nevertheless 
extremely  dangerous  to  Catholics.  There- 
fore, Pastors  of  souls  should  discounte- 
nance such  suspicious  unions,  lest  the 
members  of  their  congregation,  forget- 
ing  their  obedience  to  the  Church,  may 
entangle  themselves  in  the  snares  of  evil, 
and  deviate  farther  and  farther  from 
communion  with  the  Church,    and    thus 


REV.    PHILIP  KUMMERT. 


gradually  become  victims  of  unbelievers, 
and  perhaps  lose  their  faith.  This  might 
result,  should  persons  remain  members  of 
a  society  in  opposition  to  the  expressed 
will  of  the  Church,  if.  for  local  reasons, 
the  Church  deemed  best  to  condemn  said 
society." 

And  regarding  the  secret  societies  the 
Bishop  says :  "Though  for  the  sake  of 
uniformity,  as  decreed  by  the  III  Council 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


309 


of  Baltimore,  we  do  not  intend  nominally 
to  condemn  any  society,  which  is  not 
condemned  in  any,  or  in  all  the  dioceses 
of  the  United  States,  still,  as  the  Ordi- 
nary of  our  diocese,  we  declare  that  any 
organization  imposing  an  act  of  secrecy 
on  its  members,  not  to  be  revealed  to 
Church  authority,  i.e.  the  Bishop  or  a 
Priest  deputed  by  the  Bishop,  and  having 
at  the  same  time  a  Ritual  or  a  Chaplain 
attached  to  it,  is  dangerous  for  Catholics, 
and  in  each  individual  case,  members  who 
will  not  withdraw  from  such,  shall  be 
denied  the  Sacramental  absolution  when 
living,  and  deprived  of  Christian  burial 
when  they  die. 

"We  again  exhort  you  to  unity  of 
spirit  as  members  of  the  same  household, 
to  practice  the  virtues  of  sobriety,  humil- 
ity, obedience,  generosity,  and  to  charity 
in  word  and  deed,  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  and  our 
own  sanctification  and  final  salvation. 
'But  increase  in  grace  and  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  To 
Him  be  glory  both  now  and  unto  the  day 
of  eternity.' — (II  St.  Peter,  ch.  3,  v. 
18.)"4 

This  circular  practically  exhausted  the 
most  important  subject  on  which  the  di- 
rection of  the  Ordinary  was  necessary  for 
the  safe  guidance  of  the  priests  and  their 
people.  It  seems  to  us  that  for  these 
reasons  the  Lenten  Pastoral  for  1889  was 
of  a  more  general  character  pertaining  to 
the  spiritual  life.     The  Bishop  writes: 

"Beloved  brethren:  Our  Lord  and 
Savior  Jesus  Christ  came  upon  earth  to 
redeem  us,  to  atone  for  our  sins  and  to 
wash  them  away  with  his  precious  blood. 
Christ  was  offered  once  to  exhaust  the 


4  Pastoral,  dated  January  20,  1888. 


sins  of  many.  (St.  Paul  Heb.  IX.  28.) 
That  one  expiatory  act  of  Our  Redeemer, 
so  far  as  its  efficacy  is  concerned,  blotted 
our  every  sin  committed  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  to  the  end  of  time. 
But,  with  regard  to  the  positive  effect  of 
the  redemption  there  is  a  contingency 
ever  to  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  sinner  of 
which  St.  Augustine  reminds  us  when  he 
says:  'He  who  created  you  without  your 
concurrence,  will  not  save  you  without 
your  co-operation.'  It  stands  to  reason, 
dear  children  in  Christ,  that  no  ruler  can 
forgive  a  rebellious  subject,  if  that  sub- 
ject persevere  in  his  rebellion  or  con- 
tinue to  foster  a  seditious  spirit.  Hence, 
it  follows:  that  although  Christ  died  for 
all,  not  all  shall  be  saved ;  for  it  is  a  fact 
of  daily,  nay,  hourly  experience  that  men 
in  a  state  of  open  revolt  against  God,  in 
a  state  of  willful  mortal  sin,  not  only 
manifest  no  desire  to  repent,  but  even 
glory  in  their  guilt,  and  determinedly  die 
in  their  iniquity.  We  continually  witness  , 
examples  of  this  fact  even  where  the 
means  of  salvation  have  been  thrust  and 
obtruded  on  men,  with  a  lavish  prodi- 
gality by  the  divine  mercy.  This  is  the 
first  reason  why  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  of  themselves  all  sufficient,  are 
often  inefficacious  in  their  result.  There 
is  another  cause,  however,  why  they  re- 
main without  effect.  It  is  because  the 
declared  will  of  God  has  conditioned  the 
application  of  those  merits  on  the  perfor- 
mance of  certain  actions,  the  use  of  cer- 
tains means,  without  which  no  one.  ordi- 
narily speaking,  can  profit  by  the  infinite 
graces  obtained  for  mankind  by  His  Di- 
vine Son.  I  say  ordinarily,  because  the 
hand  of  Almighty  God  is  not  shortened, 
and,  in  His  inscrutable  mercy,  He  may 


310 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


311 


vouchsafe  to  have  recourse  to  extraordi- 
nary ways,  but  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  these.  It  is  supreme  folly  to  look 
for  extraordinary  aids,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  ordinary  ones  instituted  by  God. 
When  these  latter  are  not  properly  em- 
ployed by  man,  it  is  an  expressed  declara- 
tion of  the  infallible  teaching"  of  the 
Church  of  God  that  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ  shall  be  of  no  avail  in  man's  re- 
gard. 

"The  means,  dear  brethren,  whereby 
the  merits  of  the  passion  and  death  of  our 
Lord  may  be  applied  to  us  are  the  holy 
sacraments  of  the  Catholic  Church,  with- 
out the  worthy  reception  of  which,  if  we 
be  in  the  state  of  sin,  all  other  good  or 
penitential  works  will  not  avail  towards 
obtaining  eternal  life;  whereas,  by  the 
worthy  use  of  these  means  of  salvation, 
all  our  personal  endeavors  become  accept- 
able and  meritorious  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  purify  us  still  more  and  more  from 
our  past  iniquity.  Let  us,  therefore,  dur- 
ing this  season  of  Lent,  frequently  go  to 
the  throne  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  the 
tribunal  of  penance  and  be  united  to  our 
Savior  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  not  only 
to  comply  with  the  letter  of  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Church,  but  in  order  to 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  same,  of  which 
the  spirit  of  God  reminds  us,  saying 
'This  is  the  will  of  God  your  sanctifica- 
cation.'  In  order,  therefore,  that  you 
may  all  have  the  opportunity  to  blot  out 
the  least  vestige  of  sin  during  the  holy 
Easter  time,  we  ordain  that  in  each  mis- 
sion in  the  diocese,  where  there  is  a 
church,  a  triduum — forty  hours'  devotion 
— will  be  held  in  the  Easter  time  whenever 
convenient  to  the  respective  pastors,  dur- 
ing: which  time  the  faithful  shall  be  in- 


structed on  the  special  graces  of  a  plen- 
ary indulgence  and  God's  mercy  in  grant- 
ing it  on  the  condition  of  a  worthy  re- 
ception of  the  sacraments  of  Penance  and 
Holy  Eucharist,  praying  devoutly  at  least 
five  Paters  and  Aves  for  the  conversion 
of  sinners  and  the  exaltation  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  and  contributing,  ac- 
cording to  their  charity,  an  alms  which 
shall  be  applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  In- 
dians and  Negroes;  said  alms  to  be  de- 
posited in  a  box  placed  in  the  church  for 
that  purpose.  This  plenary  indulgence 
may  be  applied  to  the  souls  in  purgatory, 
per  modum  suffragii,  as  a  supplication 
for  the  remission  of  the  punishment  due 
to  souls  after  death,  and  which  God  may 
or  may  not  accept.  Thus  fulfilling  the 
spirit  of  the  Church  by  praying,  fasting, 
alms  giving,  and  receiving  the  sacra- 
ments, we  are  doing  the  penance  without 
which,  as  the  Lord  himself  assures,  we 
shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 
This  spirit  of  penance  was  always  neces- 
sary for  the  forgiveness  of  sin  from  the 
fall  of  Adam,  during  all  the  succeeding 
ages  of  the  old  law  which  foreshadowed 
the  more  explicit  means  instituted  by  the 
Author  of  our  Redemption  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  Grace. 

"Such,  dear  brethren,  are  the  wonder- 
ful means  the  patient  love  of  God  has  in- 
vented and  inculcated  to  rescue  us  from 
sin  and  from  its  direful  effects.  To  us, 
who  have  been  from  childhood  accus- 
tomed to  the  reception  of  these  graces, 
they  seem  an  ordinary  gift;  but, — if  we 
understood  the  merciful  means  of  the  re- 
mission of  sins  in  its  full  value  and  real- 
ity, we  would  call  on  the  universe  to 
thank  God  for  this  inestimable  gift,  as 
manifested  in  its  institution.     We  should 


312 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


also  have  a  higher  idea  of  the  goodness 
of  God  and  his  wonderful  love  for  us,  of 
which  he  has  given  a  faint  picture  when 
he  represents  Himself  as  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, leaving  the  ninety-nine,  to  follow 
after  the  one  sheep,  strayed  from  the_ 
fold ;  or,  when  he  speaks  of  Himself  as 
the  Father  receiving  again  to  His  bosom 
His  prodigal  child.  These  are  indeed 
only  faint  images  of  God's  love  towards 
us.     Knowing  this,  we  should  endeavor, 


REV.    M.   J.    VAN    STRATTEN. 

with  great  faith  and  confidence,  to  make 
use  of  these  means  of  reconciliation  with 
Him.  For  it  must  be  evident  to  every 
one,  that  if  God  on  his  part,  has  done  so 
much  for  us,  it  is  certainly  not  his  inten- 
tion to  abandon  us  to  our  own  weakness. 
On  the  contrary,  He  will  always  aid  us 
when  He  finds  in  us  the  least  sincere  dis- 
position to  be  faithful  to  Him.    The  acts 


preceding,  accompanying  and  following 
the  worthy  reception  of  the  sacraments  ob- 
tain for  us  special,  actual  graces,  whilst 
the  sacraments  themselves  invest  us  with 
sanctifying  grace  and  increase  it.  Finally, 
the  good  works,  performed  in  that  happy 
state,  lessen  the  temporal  punishment  due 
to  our  sins,  or  remit  it  entirely  if  we 
comply  with  the  required  conditions,  by 
gaining  the  plenary  indulgence.  No  one, 
therefore,  no  matter  how  steeped  in  sin 
he  may  be,  should  at  any  time  withdraw 
from  this  pledge  of  God's  mercy  as  dis- 
pensed by  His  Church  on  earth.  Still 
less  should  we  neglect  the  opportunity 
at  this  holy  season  of  the  year — the  ac- 
ceptable time — the  time  of  salvation — 
that,  having  become  reconciled  to  the 
offended  Majesty  of  God,  and  having 
sealed  this  return  to  Him  with  the  prec- 
ious body  and  blood  of  the  Lamb  of  God, 
we  may  forever  abide  in  Him  and  He  in 
us.    May  we  so  live  forever. 

"The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  the  charity  of  God  and  the  communi- 
cation of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you 
all.     Amen." 5 

After  such  vigilant  care  of  ten  years 
Bishop  Vertin  saw  his  diocese  well  regu- 
lated and,  according  to  our  Lake  Super- 
ior  demands  and  resources,  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition.  Nothing,  in  his  power, 
was  left  undone  to  promote  her  welfare. 
In  bold,  effective  strokes,  like  an  artist 
on  his  canvas,  the  Bishop  had  drawn  her 
indefaceable  character,  a  benignant,  yet 
inflexible  preceptress.  One  more  line 
and  her  image  will  be  complete. 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  provided 
for  the  appointment  of  consultors  who, 
in    absence    of    a    canonical    chapter,    in 

6  Pastoral,  dated  January  15,  1SS9. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  A.XD  MARQUETTE 


313 


vogue  in  European  countries,  would  act 
as  counsellors  to  the  Bishop  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  temporal  affairs.  In 
j  887  Bishop  Vertin  had  appointed  Rev. 
Edward  Jacker  his  first  Vicar  General 
and  at  the  same  time  Revs.  Gerhard  Ter- 
horst  and  Eugene  Buttermann,  O.  S.  F., 
his  first  consultors.  At  the  close  of  the 
first  decade  of  his  episcopate  he  wished 
to  carry  out  more  fully  the  provisions  of 
the  Council.  To  do  so  with  more  defer- 
ence to  the  wishes  of  his  clergy  he  called 
a  Prosynodal  Conference  on  the  23d  of 
October  1889. 

The  meeting  was  held  in  the  Cathedral 
in  prescribed  form.  Present  were:  Revs. 
G.  Terhorst,  H.  Bourion,  A.  Vermare.  C. 
Langner,  F.  Eis,  P.  C.  Menard,  R.  Char- 
tier,  S.  J.,  E.  Buttermann,  O.  S.  F.,  E. 
P.  Bordas,  J.  E.  Martel,  J.  Haas,  J.  M. 
( i.  .Manning,  J.  Keul,  I.  Otis.  T.  J.  At- 
field,  M.  Faust,  F.  X.  Becker,  A.  Krogul- 
ski,  P.  Marceau,  J.  M.  Pangan,  J.  Kunes, 
T.  V.  Dassylva,  J.  R.  Boissonnault.  M. 
Kehoe,  A.  Vitali.  F.  Sutter,  M.  Weiss,  J. 
H.  Reynaert. 

The  subject  brought  before  the  Con- 
ference was  the  simple  question,  whether 
anything  should  be  added,  taken  off  or 
changed  in  the  existing  laws  of  the  dio- 
cese. After  due  deliberation  the  assem- 
bled priests  agreed  to  ask  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Ordinary  to  consider  the  following  ob- 
servations : 

BAPTISM.— (A)  The  Right  Rever- 
end Ordinary  is  petitioned  to  do  away 
with  a  censure  of  suspension  ( mention  of 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  old  Statutes 
of  the  Diocese)  incurred  in  the  case  of  a 
priest  baptizing  in  a  private  house  with- 
out necessity.  The  motive  for  request- 
ing   said    privilege    is    the    uncertainty 


which  not  infrequently  exists  in  the 
priest's  mind  as  to  whether  there  are 
sufficient  reasons  or  not  for  baptizing  as 
above  stated. 

(B)  Resolved  that  people  living  with- 
in three  miles  must  bring  their  children 
to  the  church  for  baptism. 

(C)  Resolved  that  when  one  pastor 
baptizes  for  another,  the  former  is  en- 
titled to  keep  whatever  offering  is  made. 

HOPY  EUCHARIST.— (D)  Re- 
si  lived  that  children  under  twelve  years 
of  age  shall  as  a  rule  not  be  admitted  to 
First  Holy  Communion. 

MATRIMONY.— (E)  Resolved  that 
when  the  contracting  parties  belong  to 
different  missions,  the  publication  of 
Banns  be  made  in  both  missions. 

(F)  Decided  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
and  approved  by  the  clergy  that  the  fee 
for  a  marriage  be  at  least  $5.00,  with 
Nuptial  High  Mass  an  additional  $5.00. 

FUNERALS.— (G)  Resolved  that 
three  classes  of  funerals  be  established 
and  that  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  decide  the 
tax  to  be  collected  for  each. 

(  H )  Resolved  that  the  hour  for  funer- 
al services  in  the  morning  be  fixed  at  9 
<  1'clock. 

SCHOOPS.— (I)  Resolved  that  Fath- 
er Weninger's  Parger  Catechism  at  pres- 
ent obligatory  for  the  first  year  after 
First  Communion  be  abandoned  and  some 
other  substituted,  E.  G.  Deharbe's  or  the 
Abbe  Colon's. 

(J)  Resolved  that  the  Bishop  state 
more  explicitly,  when  absolution  shall  be 
refused  for  refusal  to  comply  with  the 
rule  of  the  church,  obliging  parents  to 
provide  for  the  religious  education  of 
their  children. 

The  Right  Reverend  Bishop  explained 


314 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


or  approved  the  Resolution  as  follows : 

(A)  The  censure  of  suspension  was 
taken  away. 

(D)  For  good  reasons  the  pastor  may 
allow  children  under  twelve  years  to  First 
Holy  Communion. 

(E)  A  fortiori,  if  the  parties  come 
from  two  different  dioceses ;  the  dispensa- 
tion must  he  obtained  accordingly.  (Vide 
Konings  de  Mat.  No.  1539.) 

If  a  dispensation  in  the  above  case  is 
granted  the  non-officiating  pastor  shall  be 
notified  thereof. 

Pastors  when  asking  for  dispensations 
must  give  canonical  reasons,  according  to 
the  existing  Regulations  of  the  diocese. 

The  kind  and  the  number  (  from  publi- 
cation) of  Dispensations  granted  must 
distinctly  be  recorded  in  the  Marriage 
Records  of  the  mission  for  inspection  at 
the  time  of  the  pastoral  visit  thereto,  by 
the  Bishop. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  decided  that  the 
old  custom,  which  obtains  ad  fraudem 
Irgis  dispensation  and  be  married  there, 
before  they  have  obtained  a  domicile  or 
quasi  domicile,  their  case  remains  re- 
served to  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop,  and  will 
be  subject  to  his  order  for  the  satisfac- 
tion required  of  them.  (Vide  Cone.  Bait. 
III.  CIX.) 

(G)  After  hearing  the  opinion  of  the 
clergy,  the  Rt.  Rev,  Bishop  decided  that 
for  funeral  services  of  the  1st  class, 
$20.00  shall  be  asked;  $15.00  for  the  2nd, 
and  $10.00  for  the  3rd.  In  the  same  con- 
nection it  was  decided  that  the  simple 
obsequies,  in  the  church,  of  an' adult  or 
child  would  be  taxed  $3.00,  with  singing 
$4.00;  accompanying  of  said  funeral  to 
the  cemetery  $5.00. 

The    taxa,    according    to    the     present 


Regulations  of  the  Diocese,  is  to  be  re- 
tained for  all  services,  until  the  one  pre- 
sented by  the  Bishop,  and  adopted  by  the 
priests,  may  be  approved  of  In-  Rome, 
(vide  Cone.  Bait.  Ill  294.) 

(  1 )  The  priests  may  use  any  cate- 
chism, if  Weninger's  be  objectionable  to 
them — we  retain  the  old  one — for  the 
first  vear  after  Holv  Communion,  until  a 


REV.   TH.   AL   MAJERUS. 

general  one  be  adopted  for  the  whole  dio- 
cese, succeeding  the  Council's  and  Wen- 
inger's. 

( J )  The  Bishop  decided  then  and 
there,  that  all  Catholic  children  without 
exception,  even  those  who  have  made 
their  first  Communion,  must  attend  the 
Catholic  School,  provided  the  latter  is 
able  to  impart  the  same  instruction  as  the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


315 


Public  Schools,  unless  they  have  a  written 
permission  from  the  Bishop  to  the  con- 
trary. It  is  not  intended  however  to  visit 
with  this  penalty  the  innocent  child, 
mother  or  father  as  the  case  may  be,  only 
the  guilty  parties.  As  to  those  who  are 
really  too  poor  to  pay  the  tuition  of  their 
children  at  the  Parochial  School,  the 
pastor  and  his  congregation  must  devise 
some  means,  whereby  the  children  of  the 
aforesaid  poor  parents  may  enjoy  the 
same  privilege  as  others. 

THE  INFIRM  PRIEST'S  FUND.— 
Every  priest  on  the  mission  will  send  in 
his  name  and  the  name  of  his  mission, 
with  $10.00  for  himself  and  $10.00  more 
from  his  mission  to  the  president  of  this 
association,  who  will  send  the  amount 
collected  to  the  Treasurer,  and  the  names 
of  priests  and  missions  with  account 
given  to  the  Secretary,  both  of  whom  will 
have  account  books  for  that  purpose. 
The  Board  of  Directors  are  the  Bishop 
and  his  Councilors  who  will  direct  where 
and  how  the  money  may  be  utilized.  If 
any  clergyman  shall  leave  the  diocese  or 
be  dismissed  from  actual  duty  therein, 
the  money  he  paid  in  for  himself  will  be 
returned  to  him,  and  he  will  have  no 
further  claim  on  said  association.  The 
Missions  attended  to  by  Regulars  must 
contribute  also  from  their  revenues  $10 
a  year  towards  this  fund.  The  amount 
should  be  sent  in  before  the  1st  of  March. 

The  yearly  amount  to  be  paid  to  infirm 
or  superannuated  priests  will  be  $400,  to 
be  paid  quarterly. 

At  the  close  of  the  conference  the 
Bishop  announced  as  Consultors  Rev.  G. 
Terhorst,  F.  Eis,  H.  Bourion,  R.  Char- 
tier,  S.  J.,  and  the  following  officers  of 
the  diocesan  curia : 


Secretary,  Rev.  J.  M.  Langau. 

In  judicial  matters:  Procurator  fis- 
calis,  Rev.  H.  Bourion;  defensor,  Rev.  J. 
Cebul;  secretary,  Rev.  P.  C.  Menard; 
Notarius,  Rev.  A.  Vitali,  U.  J.  D. 

For  matrimonial  cases:  Moderator. 
Rev.  C.  Langner;  Defensor,  P.  C.  Me- 
nard; secretary.  Rev.  M.  Kehoe;  notary, 
Rev.  A.  Krogulski ;  Examiners  of  junior 
clergy,  Rev.  J.  Cebul,  Rev.  C.  Langner, 
Rev.  M.  Kehoe. 

School-examiners :  Rev.  H.  Rousseau. 
Rev.  C.  Langner  and  T.  J.  Atfield. 

A  new  tariff  of  charges  for  stipends  was 
framed  and  approved  of  by  the  Congre- 
gation of  Propaganda  Fide.  Sending  it 
out,  under  date  of  March  19,  1895,  the 
Bishop  orders  it  "framed  and  hung  up 
beside  the  other  rules  and  regulations  of 
the  diocese."  They  are  still  in  force  and 
may  be  seen  in  the  vestibules  of  our 
churches. 

Thus  Bishop  Vertin  bent  his  energies 
on  improving  his  diocese,  and  at  the  same 
time  quietly  pushed  the  work  on  his  Ca- 
thedral. The  spring  of  1890  found  the 
great  church  frescoed  and  furnished. 
Without  delay  the  Bishop  committed 
it  to  its  purpose.  On  March  25th 
Mass  was  read  upstairs,  but  the  solemn 
consecration  was  deferred  to  the  summer 
season. 

For  this  solemnity  extensive  prepara- 
tions were  made.  The  Bishop  desired  that 
it  should  be  a  memorable  day  for  the 
whole  diocese.  Invitations  were  accord- 
ingly sent  through  the  pastors  to  the 
faithful  of  every  mission.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  Sunday,  July  27th  (1890)  special 
trains  brought  the  visitors  to  the  city  from 
all  sections  of  the  diocese. 

On     account     of    the     lengthv     ritual 


316 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Bishop  Vertin  began  the  consecration 
early  in  the  morning.  The  attendance 
was  throughout  very  large  and  those  pres- 
ent followed  the  Bishop  through  the 
liturgy  with  marked  attention.  At  ten 
o'clock  Bishop  Flasch  of  La  Crosse  cele- 
brated Pontifical  High  Mass,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  which  Bishop  Marty,  of  South 
Dakota,  delivered  a  brief  sermon.  Be- 
sides these  two  dignitaries,  Bishop  Katzer 
of  Green  Bay,  Msgr.  Zeininger,  adminis- 
trator of  the  Milwaukee  diocese,  Father 
Abbelen  and  thirty  other  priests  were 
present. 

This  was  a  purely  ecclesiastical  celebra- 
tion, incidental  to  the  growth  of  the 
church;  the  year  1S91,  however,  marked, 
on  the  31st  of  August,  the  25th  anni- 
versary of  Bishop  Vertin's  ordination  to 
priesthood,  and  his  subjects  brought  about 
a  celebration,  the  like  of  which  was  never 
witnessed  within  the  church  circles  of  the 
diocese.  When  first  the  occasion  was 
brought  to  the  Bishop's  notice  he  strenu- 
ously opposed  it.  yea,  as  much  as  forbade 
any  ostentatious  celebration,  saying,  "if 
it  were  the  25th  anniversary  of  my  bish- 
opric it  might  be  worth}-  of  special  notice, 
but  in  the  twenty  five  years  as  a  priest  I 
have  done  nothing  to  merit  any  extra- 
ordinary honors."  But  the  priests  and 
laymen  had  set  their  minds  on  not  letting 
the  occasion  go  by  without  a  fitting  cele- 
bration and  without  showing  in  a  sub- 
stantial manner  their  love  for  their  Bish- 
op. Unknown  to  him  preparations  were 
quietly  made.  The  clergy  decided  to  buy 
a  pontifical  outfit,  woven  of  finest  gold- 
thread, as  a  token  of  their  esteem,  while 
the  laity  undertook  to  raise  a  purse  as 
an  appreciation  of  his  worth.  In  due  sea- 
son a  committee  of  priests  and  laymen 


waited  upon  the  Bishop  and  induced  him 
to  allow  the  celebration  to  take  place. 
The  date  was  set  for  Tuesday,  September 
the  first,  in  order  to  give  the  priests  of 
distant  missions  an  opportunity  to  be 
present.  On  Monday  many  hands  were 
busy  putting  the  Cathedral  premises  in 
festive  attire.  Inside  the  Cathedral  ladies 
were  busy  decking  the  altars  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  natural  flowers.     The  porch  of 


REV.     PALL    DATIN. 


the  episcopal  residence  was  decorated  in 
gay  trappings  of  red,  white  and  blue, 
framing  the  episcopal  coat  of  arms  as  a 
center  piece.  Skilful  hands  would  have 
done,  indeed,  a  great  deal  more  had  not 
their  ardor  been  checked  by  the  Bishop's 
request  that  the  display  be  kept  within 
modest  bounds,  consistent  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  event. 


SAULT  STB.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


317 


All  trains  on  Monday  brought  in 
guests  so  that  in  the  evening  several 
bishops  and  almost  very  diocesan  priest 
was  present.  About  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  citizens  of  Marquette  and  others, 
without  distinction  of  creed,  quietly  filled 
the  spacious  basement  of  the  Cathedral  as 
it  had  never  been  filled  before.  The  clergy 
ranged  themselves  about  the  sanctuary 
and  upon  request  the  Bishop,  accompanied 
by  the  visiting  bishops,  entered  without 
suspicion  of  what  was  in  store  for  him. 
The  Marquette  City  Band,  which  turned 
out  in  honor  of  the  occasion,  played  one 
of  its  finest  selections.  Then  Father  At- 
field,  the  first-ordained  of  Bishop  Vertin, 
presented  him  with  the  purse  on  behalf 
of  the  laity  and  with  the  pontifical  vest- 
ments on  the  part  of  his  clergy.  Present- 
ing these  tokens  of  esteem,  Father  Atfield 
said:  "Rt.  Rev.  and  dear  Bishop;  it  is 
with  pride  that  I  offer  you  the  acknowl- 
edgments of  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  on 
this  eve  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
your  ordination. 

"Our  first  duty  is  one  of  thanks,  for 
having  spared  you,  to  the  God  of  all  good- 
ness. The  more  so  as  you  have  trained 
every  gift  to  His  profit  and  to  a  reckon- 
ing that  you  yourself  can  well  be  proud 
of.  As  a  priest  you  necessarily  had  to 
contend  with  troubles  and  inconveniences 
incidental  to  all  pioneer  missionary  life, 
but  in  spite  of  these,  a  man  never  said, 
you  swerved  to  any  but  the  side  of  the 
right.  Your  labors  as  a  missionary, 
which  were  confined  principally  to  the 
parishes  of  St.  Ignatius,  Houghton,  and 
that  of  St.  Paul,  Negaunee,  bore  three 
marks,  i.e.,  that  of  the  untiring,  unselfish 
servant  of  God,  that  of  the  true  priest  of 
God's  Church,  that  of  the  whole  hearted 


friend  to  his  fellowmen.  This  is  my  ver- 
dict. This,  Bishop,  is  the  verdict  of  all 
who  knew  you,  whether  clergy  or  layman. 

"When  later,  through  God's  holy  ordi- 
nance, you  assumed  the  burden  of  the 
episcopacy,  the  man  and  the  priest 
changed  not,  save  that  the  added  charge 
but  awoke  new  energy  in  the  cause  of 
God  and  humanity.  Before  you  lay  a 
large  parcel  of  God's  chosen  domain — at 
your  disposal  were  at  first  but  few  labor- 
ers. Certainly  the  task  was  neither  an 
envious  nor  an  envied  one.  With  God  as 
your  guide,  with  right  and  justice  as  your 
standard,  you  undertook  the  task  and  to- 
day it  bears  rich  and  honored  fruit.  This 
is  evident  when  we  look  at  the  condition 
of  the  diocese  today  and  compare  its 
present  showing  with  that  when  you  as- 
sumed control. 

"When  you  entered  your  episcopal  seat 
you  found  your  cathedral  in  ashes.  Time 
and  your  energy  have  raised  above  the 
ashes  this  edifice  at  which  the  eyes  of 
more  populous  and  wealthy  communities 
can  gaze  with  envy  and  wonder. 

"Then  your  clergy  were  numbered  in 
the  lower  twenties,  now  their  numbers 
are  up  in  the  fifties.  Then  the  churches 
of  the  diocese  were,  for  the  most  part, 
modest  unassuming  structures,  with  rear 
additions  as  residences  for  their  pastors. 
Now  in  the  same  place  we  find  two,  three 
and  even  four  parishes,  and  each  outdoes 
in  cost,  size  and  magnificence  of  structure 
its  good  old  primitive  parent. 

"And  our  schools,  what  a  small  part 
these  handmaids  of  church  and  religion 
played  then !  Now  they  are  found  wher- 
ever their  existence  is  at  all  a  possibility. 
You  have  insisted. on  their  establishment. 
You  have  worked  in  season  and  out  of 


318 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


season  for  their  erection  and  permanent 
maintenance.  And  here  let  me  mention 
that  if  there  were  not  a  single  other  fea- 
ture to  characterize  your  zeal  in  this  dio- 
cese, save  the  interest  you  have  taken  in 
the  parochial  schools,  that  alone  would 
entitle  you  to  the  lasting  thanks  of  a 
zealous  clergy  and  a  grateful  people. 

"It  is  true,  in  all  this  you  have  had 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  your  clergy. 
With  them  worked  their  people.  This 
was  our  duty.  Still  duties  are  pleasant 
or  disagreeable,  as  they  are  made  by 
those  who  perform  them,  and  by  tin  >se 
for  whom  they  are  performed.  When 
harmony  dues  not  characterize  the  rela- 
tions of  both  they  are  of  the  disagreeable 
sort.  This  has  not  been  the  case  between 
your  Lordship  and  your  charges.  Your 
directions  have  always  been  those  oi  a 
father,  intent  on  doing  the  greatest  pos- 
sible good.  They  have  not  fostered 
dread ;  they  have  encouraged  zeal. 

"It  is  then  with  pleasure  that  we  are 
able  on  this  occasion  to  make  a  public  at- 
test of  our  thanks  and  devotion  to  you. 
Though  it  be  the  first  time  that  we  are 
able  to  do  so,  in  such  great  numbers,  the 
fault  was  owing  to  the  circumstances  of 
your  position  and  our  difficult  charges. 
Xow  that  the  occasion  is  ours  and  the  op- 
portunity mine,  I  thank  you  heartily. 
Bishop,  in  the  name  of  the  clergy  of  your 
diocese,  for  your  kindness  and  courtesy 
and  gentlemanly  conduct  towards  us  at 
all  times.  Then  I  insert,  too,  that  you 
will  find  us  ever  ready,  as  in  the  past,  to 
co-operate  with  you  in  all  you  deem  ad- 
visable for  the  spiritual  or  temporal  wel- 
fare of  this  grand  mineral  belt  of  the 
State  of  Michigan. 

"Please    accept    this,    our    offering    to 


you;  accept  it  as  a  memento  of  this  mem- 
orable occasion.  Keep  it  as  a  trivial  of- 
fering of  a  devoted  and  loyal  clergy. 
With  it  accept  our  prayers  and  blessings. 
Our  prayers  at  the  altar  tomorrow  morn- 
ing will  be  for  your  guidance  to  prosper- 
ity. Our  joy  tonight  is  that  God  has 
spared  you  to  celebrate  this  happy  event, 
ami  our  wish  is  that  you  may  live  to  cele- 
brate the  Golden,  nay,  the  Diamond,  re- 


REV.    JL'LIUS    BARON    VON    GUMFENEERC. 

currence  of  your  entry  into  the  priesthood 
of  the  diocese  of  Marquette  and  Sault  Ste. 
Marie." 

Bishop  Vertin  was  deeply  moved  and 
evidently  it  cost  him  an  effort  to  respond. 
He  thanked  his  priests  for  their  enthusi- 
astic support  in  all  his  undertakings, 
and  the  people  for  their  kind  and  friendly 
feeling.  The  Bishop  then  imparted  to 
his  priests,  as  they  knelt  one  by  one  by  his 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


319 


chair,  his  blessing  in  exchange  for  their 
well-wishes  and  then  rose  to  greet  the 
Archbishop  and  the  Bishops,  and  to  re- 
ceive their  congratulations  also. 

Then  for  hours  the  people  passed  in 
and  out  of  the  cathedral  basement  in  an 
almost  endless  procession  viewing  the 
magnificent  jubilee  gifts.  The  vestments 
heavily  brocaded  with  geld,  were  all  won- 
derfully beautiful,  but  they  were  not  the 
only  gifts  to  attract,  for  the  Altar  Society 
was  represented  by  a  Silver  Tea  Set,  and 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis,  and  all  the  church  societies 
brought  gifts  of  one  nature  or  another, 
while  many  private  gifts  were  there  with 
only  a  modest  card  to  tell  the  donor. 

The  auspicious  day  of  September  first 
dawned  and  revealed  a  clear  sky  with 
scarcely  a  cloud  to  break  the  warmth 
sending  rays  of  the  autumn  sun. 
Promptly  at  ten  o'clock  the  bells  rang  out 
the  hour  for  the  High  Mass.  At  the 
same  time  the  procession  of  priests  and 
bishops  formed  before  the  episcopal  resi- 
dence, hollowing  the  crossbearer  came 
the  priests,  then  Bishops  Foley,  Mrak, 
Richter  and  Msgr.  Zeininger.  while 
Archbishop  Katzer  and  Bishop  Vertin 
walked  side  by  side.  The  imposing  pag- 
eant of  ecclesiastics  was  greeted  by  the 
inspiring  strains  of  the  "Ecce  Sacerdos 
Magnus." 

Bishop  Vertin  vested  as  celebrant  of 
the  Pontifical  High  Mass.  Officers  of  the 
Mass  were,  Assistant,  Rev.  H.  Bourion, 
Iron  Mountain ;  Deacons  of  honor,  Rev. 
C.  Langner,  Negaunee,  and  Rev.  H.  J. 
Rousseau,  Menominee;  Deacon  of  the 
Mass,  Rev.  P.  C.  Menard,  Lake  Linden, 
and  Sub-Deacon  of  the  Mass,  Rev.  T.  J. 
Atfield,  Hancock;  Masters  of  ceremonies, 


Rev.  J.  M.  Langan  and  Rev.  J.  Miller, 
Cathedral ;  acolytes,  Rev.  M.  Kehoe. 
lronwoo'd,  Rev.  F.  X.  Becker,  Houghton ; 
cross-bearer,  Rev.  F.  Pawlar,  Manis- 
tique;  Crozier,  Rev.  F.  Marceau,  Calu- 
met; thurifer,  Rev.  J.  R.  Boissonnault, 
Ishpeming;  mitre,  Rev.  J.  P.  Kunes, 
Bessemer ;  candle,  Rev.  T.  V.  Dasslyva  of 
Michigamme;  book,  Rev.  J.  Sauriol, 
Stephenson;  gremiale,  Rev.  A.  J.  Rezek, 
Mackinac. 

Besides  the  Archbishop  and  Bishops  in 
the  sanctuary  were  seated  Msgr.  Zeinin- 
ger, Father  Kersten.  administrator  of 
Green  Bay.  Very  Rev.  Peter  B.  Englert, 
Provincial  of  the  Franciscans,  of  Cincin- 
nati Ohio;  and  priests  of  the  diocese: 
Revs.  G.  Terhorst,  Baraga;  J.  M.  Martel, 
Escanaba;  M.  Faust,  Menominee;  A. 
Vermare,  Marquette;  A*W.  Geers,  Lake 
Linden;  J.  Grenier,  S.  J..  Sault  Ste.  Ma- 
rie ;  John  Flenn,  St.  Ignace ;  Ph.  Erlach 
Ontonagon  ;  I  'h.  Krogulski,  Red  Jacket : 
Jos.  Zalokar,  Red  Jacket ;  H.  Hoelscher. 
O.  S.  F.,  Calumet;  P.  Girard,  Chassel;  J. 
M.  Manning.  Republic;  P.  E.  Borclas. 
Champion ;  R.  Cavicchi,  Iron  Mountain ; 
A.  Vitali,  J.  U.  D.,  Iron  River;  M.  Let- 
telier,  Xadeau ;  B.  Regis,  Spalding;  F. 
Lings,  O.  S.  F.,  Escanaba ;  Jos.  'Hoeber, 
Hancock;  A.  Poulin,  Hancock;  Jos.  Haas, 
Gladstone;  D.  Geary,  Hancock;  X.  Xos- 
bisch.  Ironwood;  A.  Mlynarczyk,  Iron- 
wood  ;  F.  Sutter,  Crystal  Falls ;  H.  J.  Rey- 
naert,  Norway;  J.  Reichenbach  of  Rock- 
land, and  others.  Occupying  the  front 
pews  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Wertin 
of  Hancock,  parents  of  the  Bishop 
and  his  brother  Joseph  Wertin,  Jr.,  of 
Red  Jacket,  Hon.  Peter  White  and 
J.  M.  Longyear,  and  other  prominent  citi- 
zens of  Marquette  were  escorted  to  places 


320 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


of  honor  by  the  ushers  at  the  request  of 
Bishop  Vertin  himself. 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop 
Foley  of  Detroit.  In  flowing  words  he 
depicted  the  "Apostolicity  of  the  Church." 
and  then  turning  to  the  Bishop  who  was 
the  central  figure  of  the  occasion,  briefly 
pointed  out  his  work  in  the  cause  of  the 
Church. 

The  services  closed  with  the  Te  Deum. 

Dinner  was  served  to  the  clerical 
guests  in  the  Sodality  Hall  of  St.  Joseph's 
Convent.  The  inner  man  must  have 
smiled  at  the  good  things  spread  before 
him!  When  the  toast-master  began  his 
work,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  re- 
sponded to  the  call,  and  in  well  chosen 
words  extolled  the  occasion.  The  Bishop 
thanked  the  Archbishop,  Bishops  and 
Priests  for  the  honor  of  their  presence ;  he 
was  happy,  indeed,  that  the  first  twenty 
five  years  of  his  priesthood  had  not  been 
entirely  void  of  usefulness,  but  after  all — 
Tu  autem  Domine,  miserere  nobis.  Con- 
fiteantur  tibi  Domine  omnia  opera  tua. 
Et  sancti  tui  benedicant  tibi.  The  laconic 
break-up  of  speeches  was  enjoyed  by  all 
and  the  merriment  was  general. 

Among  the  congratulatory  telegrams 
and  letters  was  a  cablegram  from  His 
Eminence  Cardinal  Rampolla,  secre- 
tary of  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII.  It 
was  transmitted  in  Italian,  and  translated 
read  as  follows :  Monsignor  Vertin, 
Bishop  of  Marquette. 

The    Holy    Father    sends    congratula- 
tions on  the  occasion  of  the  Anniversary 
September  ist,  and  sends  special  blessing. 
Cardinal  Rampolla. 

The  week  after  his  Silver  Jubilee 
Bishop  Vertin  departed  for  Rome  on  his 
second  visit  to  the  Apostolic  See.     He 


was  accompanied  by  Fathers  M.  Faust. 
F.  X.  Becker,  A.  Vermare  and  Dr.  Al- 
berico  Vitali.  During  his  absence  the 
aged  Bishop  Mrak  took  charge  of  the 
diocese.  The  party  returned  early  in  De- 
cember. 

At  home  Bishop  Vertin  began  his  ac- 
customed activity.  With  the  money  given 
him  by  the  diocesans  on  the  occasion  of 
his  Jubilee  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land 


REV.    E.    CHAPUIS. 


north  of  Marquette  for  a  cemetery,  which 
was  very  much  needed,  as  the  old  one, 
being  in  an  undesirable  location,  was  be- 
sides being  filled.  When  the  good  Bishop 
died,  he  bequeathed  a  sum  of  money  for 
a  chapel  to  be  built  upon  this  cemetery. 

We  have  so  far  noticed  only  what 
Bishop  Vertin  did  for  the  elevation  of 
his  diocese,  in  other  words,  for  the  spirit- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


321 


ual  and  temporal  well-being  of  his  dio- 
cesans. But  we  would  tell  the  story  only 
half  if  we  did  not  at  least  mention  what 
he  did  for  his  clergy.  Bishop  Vertin  well 
knew  that  his  generalship  would  be  of  lit- 
tle avail  if  he  did  nut  have  a  faithful 
clergy  to  carry  out  his  orders.  With  this 
fact  before  his  mind,  he  strove  to  obtain 
'a  good  priesthood.  With  them  he  was 
strict  and  inexorable  in  matters  of  duty, 
but  never  lost  sight  of  the  many  sacrifices 
which  the  priest  was  expected  to  make 
daily  for  the  sake  of  his  flock.  He  him- 
self was  pastor  for  twelve  years  and  saw 
the  hardships  connected  with  attending 
to  small,  scattered  missions  many  of 
which  were  attached  to  most  of  the  so- 
called  parishes.  He  understood  what  it 
meant  to  build  churches,  schools  and 
houses  with  nothing  on  hand  but  the 
willing  donations  of  the  well  disposed, 
but  not  seldom,  poor  people.  He  realized 
the  pastor's  solicitude  for  his  charges  "in 
labors  and  painfulness,  in  much  watch- 
ings,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings 
often,  in  cold  and  nakedness"  as  St.  Paul 
says.  (2  Cor.  XI.  2j.)  He  knew  that 
if  it  were  not  for  these  willing,  self-im- 
posed privations  of  the  priest  many  people 
must  needs  forego  the  ministrations  of 
religion.  He  was  well  informed,  too, 
that  where  the  priest  should  share  the 
weal  as  well  as  the  woe  of  members  of  his 
flock,  he  is  not  seldom  shut  out  unless 
misfortune  raps  at  the  door.  These 
reasons  more  than  inclined  him  to  be  a 
real  father  to  his  priests.  No  priest  ever 
came  to  his  house  but  was  received  with 
open  arms  and  made  to  partake  of  the  best 
the  Bishop  could  afford.  His  hospitality 
has  become  proverbial  and  will  live  as 
long  as  one  of  those  who  enjoyed  it  lives. 


He  never  permitted  a  priest,  who  had  a 
poorer  mission,  to  depart  without  giving 
him  ten,  twenty,  and  more  mass-inten- 
tions. He  did  not  wish  the  priest  to  feel 
that  he  was  receiving  alms,  and  gave  it 
to  him  under  the  disguise  of  intentions, 
saying,  "Father,  if  you  have  no  Masses, 
say  these  for  the  deceased  members  of 
my  family  or  according  to  my  intention." 
To  poorer  priests  he  would  invariably  re- 
turn dispensation  alms,  which  they  oc- 
casionally sent  in,  with  the  remark : 
"Keep  this  for  yourself,  as  you  may  find 
good  use  for  it."  To  struggling  missions 
he  annually  remitted  the  cathedraticum, 
and  in  many  instances  took  only  one  half 
or  evenly  divided  it  between  the  pastor 
and  his  parish.  He  was  not  less  careful 
of  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  priests. 
Lest  a  priest  should  forget,  in  the  daily 
toil,   his  own  sanctification ;  as  early  as 

1882,  he  wrote:  "We  ordain  that  every 
ecclesiastic,  secular  or  regular,  in  care  of 
souls  under  our  jurisdiction,  shall  make 
yearly  a  Retreat  of  at  least  three  days  at 
home  or  abroad,  until  such  times  as  We 
shall  be  able  to  call  them  to  a  diocesan 
Retreat.      This    obliges,    after    January 

1883.  sub  poena  suspensionis  fer.  sent." 
The  first  diocesan  Retreat  was  preached 
by  Father  Schwartz,  C.  S.  S.  R.,  in  1893 
and  every  second  year  thereafter. 

At  home  Bishop  Vertin  was  well  oc- 
cupied. He  always  attended  to  every 
kind  of  diocesan  writings  himself.  We 
have  found  even  circulars  to  his  clergy 
copied  by  himself.  This  necessarily  meant 
long  hours  at  his  desk.  When  at  home, 
he  invariably  said  Mass  at  the  Convent 
at  six  o'clock  every  morning.  After  a 
light  breakfast  he  spent  some  time  saying 
his  office  and  then  sat  down  at  his  desk 


322 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


and  was  busy  with  his  correspondence  times  relieved  him  on  Sundays,  singing 
until  eleven  o'clock,  when  very  often,  on  High  Mass  unassisted.  He  always  most 
his  usual  walk  down  town,  he  carried  his  willingly  attended  sick-calls  whenever  a 
letters  to  the  post-office  or  the  nearest  patient  desired  him  to  come.  He  bap- 
mail  box.     He  never  had  an  active  secre-  tized,    preached     and    heard    confession 


BISHOP  VF.KTIN   IN   THE  LAST  YEARS  OF    HIS  LIFE. 


tary,  and  that  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
his  letters  were  without  style  and  badly 
written.  Until  1890  he  seldom  had  more 
than  one  priest  at  the  Cathedral  and  at 


whenever  exigencies  arose,  and  never  re- 
fused to  see  anybody  when  they  knocked 
at  his  door.  While  he  did  not  despise  the 
good  will  of  the  rich,  he  studiously  cul- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


323 


tivated  the  friendship  of  the  poor  and 
needy  who  made  good  use  of  his  big- 
heartedness.  By  inheritance  he  came 
into  possession  of  large  estates — his  fa- 
ther's death  occurred  at  Hancock  in  1893, 
that  of  his  mother  a  year  after,  and  two 
years  later  that  of  his  brother.  Joseph 
Wertin  of  Red  Jacket.  This  made  him 
the  principal  heir  of  all  the  family  wealth, 
his  brother  George  having  died  in  1890. 
With  this  inherited  fortune,  he  first  paid 
off  the  indebtedness  of  the  Cathedral,  so 


came  on  Sunday  February  26,  1899.  On 
Saturday,  as  was  his  habit,  he  received 
his  confessor,  said  Mass  Sunday  morn- 
ing and  in  the  evening  a  sudden  weakness 
prostrated  him.  Priests  present  gathered 
around  him  and  Father  Corbley,  S. 
J.,  who  had  opened  a  Mission  for  the 
Cathedral  parish  in  the  morning,  has- 
tened to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the 
dying,  and  a  few  minutes  after  the 
Bishop  peacefully  closed  his  earthly  ca- 
reer. 


THE     REMAINS     OF     BISHOP     VERTIN      WHILE      IN     STATE   IN   THE  ST.    PETERS   CATHEDRAL,  .MAR- 
QUETTE,   MICHIGAN. 


that  he  felt  free  from  all  incumbrances 
for  the  first  time  since  his  ascendency  to 
the  episcopal  chair.  But  just  then  his  own 
health  commenced  to  fail.  He  consulted 
eminent  physicians,  and,  upon  their  ad- 
vice, went  to  Carlsbad,  Bohemia,  and 
other  health-resorts,  but  all  to  no  avail. 
He  usually  returned  home  somewhat  ben- 
efitted only  to  toil  as  before,  unconscious 
of  his  stealthily  approaching  end,  which 


The  obsequies  were  deferred  till 
Thursday.  March  3d,  meanwhile  the 
body  lay  in  state  in  the  Cathedral  under 
the  guard  of  honor  drawn  from  different 
Catholic  societies.  Among  the  seventy 
five  priests  from  the  diocese,  and  from 
without,  who  came  to  pay  their  last  re- 
spects to  the  distinguised  dead,  were 
Archbishop  Katzer,  Bishops  Trobec, 
Richter,    Messmer,    Schwebach    and    our 


324 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


own  venerable  Mrak,  and  the  Monsignors 
Fox  and  Buh. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  procession  formed 
at  the  Bishop's  house,  slowly  moving  to- 
wards the  main  entrance  of  the  Cathedral 
which  was  filled  to  overflowing.  After 
the  usual  office  for  the  dead,  chanted  by 
the  clergy,  the  Most  Reverend  Arch- 
bishop celebrated  the  Requiem  High 
Mass.  Bishop  Messmer  delivered  the 
sermon.  The  Mass  was  followed  by  the 
customary  absolutions  by  the  Archbishop 
and  the  four  Bishops,  each  in  his  turn 
according  to  seniority,  and  then  priests 
lifting  the  casket  from  the  catafalque  bore 
it  to  the  vault  where  it  was  deposited  at 
the  left  side  of  Bishop  Baraga.  The 
crypt  is  closed  by  a  marble  slab  bearing 
the  following  inscription : 

Hie  in  Domino   requiescit 
Joannes  Vertin. 

Tertius  hujus  Marianopolitanae  et 
Marquettensis  Dioceseos  Episcopus. 
Natus  in  Doblice,  Carniolia,  Austria,  17. 
Juli  A.  D.  1844.  Ordinatus  Marquette, 
30.  Augusti,  A.  D.  1866.  ab  Illmo. 
Revdmo.  Episcopo  Baraga.  Consecratus, 
in  Negaunee  die  14.  Sept.  A.  D.  1879. 
Mortuus  26.  Febr.  1899. 

Magnum  pietatis  suae  monumentum 
haec  Ecclesia  Cathedralis  quam  maxime 
ex  suis  facultatibus  exstruxit  in  honor- 
emque  Sti.  Petri  Apostoli  die  2j.  Julii  A. 
D.  1890  solemniter  dedicavit.  6     R.  I.  P. 

6  Here  in  the  Lord  lieth  John  Vertin,  the  third 
Bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and 
Marquette.  Born  in  Doblice,  Carniolia,  Austria, 
Julv  17,  1844.  Ordained  by  the  Illustrious  Bishop 
Baraga  at  Marquette,  August  30,  1866.  Conse- 
crated in  Negaunee,  September  14,  1879.  Died  on 
February  26,   1899. 

This  Cathedral,  which  he  built  mostly  from 
his  own  resources  and  solemnly  dedicated  to  the 
honor  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle  on  the  27th  of 
July,  1890,  is  a  great  monument  to  his  piety. 


The  life  of  Bishop  Vertin  has  been  an 
exemplary  one  to  the  laity  and  the  clergy, 
and  useful  beyond  estimate  to  the  diocese 
at  large.  In  his  time  more  than  fifty 
churches  were  built,  forty  seven  he  dedi- 
cated himself.  He  most  tenderly  cared 
for  the  homeless  and  fatherless  children, 
and  in  many  instances  when  funds  raised 
for  their  sustenance  were  inadequate,  he 
paid  for  their  maintenance  at  the  two 
orphanages  established  mostly  through 
his  own  efforts.  During  the  second  dec- 
ade of  his  episcopate  he  ordained  the  fol- 
lowing priests : 

Rev.  Dennis  Cleary,  A.  J.  Rezek,  Jo- 
seph Hoeber,  and  Ludolf  Richen  for  New 
Orleans,  July  12,  1890. 

Anthony  C.  Keller  and  Joseph  G.  Pin- 
ten  were  ordained  for  the  diocese  in 
Rome,   November    1,    1890. 

Rev.  Adam  J.  Doser,  December  2j, 
1890. 

Revs.  James  Miller,  Joseph  E.  Neu- 
mair,  Nicholas  H.  Nosbisch,  Julius  Pa- 
pon, Anselm  Mlynarczyk  and  Joseph 
Wallace  on  the  second  of  July  1891. 
Rev.  Frederick  Sperlein,  July  2,  1892. 
Revs.  Hubert  Zimmermann  and  Fran- 
cis Maciarcz,  June  24,  1893. 

Rev.  Joseph  Dupasquier,  ordained  in 
1893. 

Rev.  James  Lenhart,  Ph.  D.,  July  5, 
1894. 

Rev.    Francis    X.    Barth,    ordained    at 
Louvain,  Belgium,  by  Bishop  Durier  of 
Natchitoches,  La.,  June  29.  1895. 
Rev.  Anthony  Hodnik,  June  1895. 
Revs.  Joseph  Hollinger,  Anthony  2a- 
gar,  July  19,  1895. 

Rev.  Mathias  Jodocy  ordained  for  the 
diocese  at  Louvain,  by  Bishop  Meer- 
schaert  of  Oklahoma,  June  29,  1897. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


325 


Rev.  Alexander  Hasenberg,  ordained 
in  his  native  place  by  Bishop  Vertin,  on 
June  29,  1896. 

Rev.  Frederick  Glaser,  August  12, 
1896. 

Rev.  John  Kraker,  October  25,  1897. 

Rev.  Henry  Buchholtz  at  Escanaba, 
Mich.,  on  May  15,  1898. 

Rev.  James  Corcoran,  August  28,  1898, 
in  Escanaba, 


Rev.  John  Mockler,  Marquette,  Au- 
gust 31,  1898. 

Time  will  obliterate  the  individuality 
of  Bishop  Vertin's  work  and  merits  for 
the  diocese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Mar- 
quette among  the  succeeding  generations, 
but  the  seed  he  sowed  will  continue  to 
bring  forth  good  fruit  into  endless  times. 
May  his  noble  soul  have  found  the  well 
merited  reward  among  the  blest! 


Chapter     XIII. 
THE    RIGHT    REV.    FREDERICK    EIS,    D.    D. 

His  early  education. — His  ordination  to  the  priesthood.— The  elevation  to  the  episcopate. 

His  first  visit  to  the  Apostolic  See. — His  labors  as  the  fourth  bishop  of  Saidt 

Ste.   Marie  and  Marquette. — Holds  the  second  Pro-Synodal  Conference. 


The  day  after  the  deposition  of  Bishop 
Vertin's  remains  Archbishop  Katzer  ap- 
pointed Rev.  Frederick  Eis  administrator 
of  the  diocese.  The  consultors  and  one 
irremovable  rector,  also  met  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Metropolitan  and  put  up 
their  candidates  for  the  created  vacancy. 
Father  Eis  was  named  by  them  as  dignis- 
simus,  Rev.  Honoratus  Bourion  dignior 
and  Rev.  Martin  Kehoe  digitus.  The  bish- 
ops of  the  Province,  too,  headed  their  list 
with  Father  Eis.  This  with  the  petition 
forwarded  to  the  Holy  Father  by  the  dio- 
cesan clergy  gave  Father  Eis  prestige 
over  other  candidates  and  he  was  nomi- 
nated the  fourth  bishop  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  and  Marquette,  under  date  of  June 
7,  1899. 

The   Bull   was  received  July  23d   and 
reads  in  translation  as  follows: 
Leo  XIII.  Pope. 

Beloved  Son.  Health  and  Apostolic 
Benediction.  The  office  of  the  Aposto- 
late,  conferred  upon  Us.  not  through  Our 
own  merits,  from  on  High,  by  which  We 
preside     over     the     government     of     all 


churches,  by  divine  providence,  striving, 
with  the  help  of  the  Lord,  usefully  to  ex- 
ercise, We  are  solicitous  in  Our  heart  and 
watchful,  that  when  there  is  question  of 
committing  the  government  of  same 
churches,  We  endeavor  to  give  them  such 
pastors,  as  know  bow  to  teach  people, 
entrusted  to  their  care,  not  only  by  word 
of  doctrine  but  also  by  the  example  of 
good  work  and  are  desirous  and  capable, 
under  God,  healthfully  to  guide  and  hap- 
pily to  govern,  the  churches  commis- 
sioned to  them,  in  peace  and  tranquility. 
Since  We  have  reserved  the  provision  for 
all  churches  that  are  now  or  that  shall  in 
future  be  vacant,  to  Our  own  appoint- 
ment and  disposition  and  declared  thence- 
forth null  and  inane  all  efforts  to  the  con- 
trarv,  no  matter  by  what  authority, 
whether  knowingly  or  unknowingly 
made.  Hence,  the  episcopal  church  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Marquette  in  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  over 
vvhich  John  Vertin,  of  blessed  memory, 
its  last  bishop,  while  be  yet  lived,  pre- 
sided, and  bv  the  death  of  same  John. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


327 


who  died  out  side  of  the  Roman  curia,  it  We  have  had  about  placing  at  the  head  of 

being    deprived    of    a    pastor,    We,    be-  the  same  church  a  useful  and  fruitful  per- 

ing    desirous    with    paternal   and   solici-  son.    with   Our   Venerable    Brothers   the 

tous  interest,  to  make  provision  for  the  Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  in 


RT.   REV.    FREDERICK   EIS. 


same  church,  in  which  no  one  outside  of 
Ls  can  now  nor  can  in  future  interpose 
by  reservation  or  decree,  contrary  to  the 
above,  after  a  diligent  deliberation,  which 


charge  of  the  propagation  of  faith.  We 
turned  Our  mind  to  you,  who,  born  of 
lawful  wedlock,  and  also  of  lawful  age, 
are  so  eminently  recommended  for  piety, 


328 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


prudence,  knowledge,  promotion  of  relig- 
ion and  other  good  qualities.    We,  there- 
fore,  with  special    benevolence    towards 
you,  absolve  you  and  hold  you  absolved, 
in  as  much  as  this  matter  is  concerned, 
from   whatsoever   excommunication   and 
interdict  and  other  ecclesiastical  sentences, 
censures,    and    punishments,    no    matter 
what  way  or  for  what  reason  pronounced, 
if  you  have  perhaps  incurred  any,  in  vir- 
tue of  Our  Apostolic  authority  with  the 
advice   of   the   same   Brothers,   by  these 
presents,  we  make  provision  for  the  said 
church   of    Sault    Ste.    Marie    and    Mar- 
quette, in  your  person,  which  is  acceptable 
to  Us  and  the  above  mentioned  Cardinals 
on    account    of    the    excellence    of    your 
merits.     We  appoint  you  its  bishop  and 
pastor,  fully  committing  to  you  the  care, 
rule  and  administration  of  that  church,  in 
spirituals  and  temporals,  trusting  in  Him 
who  bestoweth  graces  and  gifts,  that  said 
church,   the  Lord  guiding  your  actions, 
will  be  guided  by  your  diligence  and  stu- 
diousness  unto  prosperity  and  that  it  will 
advance  in  spirituals  as  well  as  in  tem- 
porals.   As  for  the  rest,  we  impart  to  you 
the  faculty  to  receive  lawfully  and  validly 
the     gift     of     consecration     from     any 
Catholic      Prelate,      whom      you      may 
choose,    in    favor   and   communion   with 
this    Apostolic    See,    inviting    two    other 
bishops   to    act    as    his    assistants,    or    if 
they    cannot    conveniently    be    had.    two 
priests,   constituted   in  ecclesiastical   dig- 
nity  enjoying   like   favor   and   commun- 
ion and  We  grant  the  same  prelate  the 
faculty  in  like  manner  lawfully  to  bestow 
upon  you  the  aforesaid  gift  of  consecra- 
tion upon  Our  apostolic  authority,  having 
first  received  from  you  the  profession  of 
Faith  according  to  the  articles  proposed 


by  this  Apostolic  See  and  the  usual  oath 
of  fidelity,  in  Our  name  and  that  of  the 
Roman  Church.  We  command,  however, 
that  if  without  having  first  received  from 
you  this  oath  and  the  profession  of  Faith, 
the  above  Prelate  presumes  to  bestow 
upon  you  the  gift  of  consecration,  and 
you  to  receive  it,  the  same  Prelate  as  well 
as  you,  by  the  very  fact,  be  suspended 
from  the  pontifical  office  and  from  the 
government  and  administration  of  your 
churches.  Notwithstanding  the  constitu- 
tion of  Our  predecessor,  Benedict  XIV. 
super  divisione  matrum  as  well  as  the 
Apostolic  constitutions  and  sanctions,  and 
all  others  whatsoever,  requiring  a  special 
and  individual  derogation  to  the  contrary. 
Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's  under  the 
ring  of  the  Fisherman,  the  7th  day  of 
June  1899.  The  twenty  second  year  of 
Our  Pontificate. 

Aloysius  Card.  Macchi. 
Bishop  Eis  was  born  at  Arbach,  dis- 
trict of  Coblenz,  diocese  of  Treves,  Ger- 
many, January  20,  1843.  Of  the  four 
children,  two  boys  and  two  girls,  born  to 
William  Eis  and  his  wife  Catherine,  nee 
Dietrich,  the  Bishop  was  the  youngest. 
The  only  other  surviving  member  of  the 
family  is  an  older  brother  residing  in 
Stearns  County,  Minnesota.  In  1S55  the 
family  came  to  Calvary,  Wisconsin,  but 
later  removed  to  Minnesota.  Young 
Frederick  came  to  Rockland  where  began 
his  career.  His  early  schooling  in  his  na- 
tive land  gave  him  an  easy  lead,  among 
his  companions.  What  the  school  of  that 
early  settlement  lacked,  his  own  diligence 
supplied.  This  self-advancement  did  not 
escape  the  ever  watchful  eye  of  his  pas- 
tor, the  Rev.  Martin  Fox.  Once  brought 
to  his  notice,  he  took  keen  interest  in  the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


329 


X 


1  m  III 1  *1#  flit It  I 


%■] 


fit  11 


p 
a 

< 


PS 
M 
X 
H 
< 
b. 

z 


p 


330 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


youth.  Aware  of  his  talents,  he  initiated 
him  into  the  mysteries  of  the  two  lan- 
guages, Latin  and  French,  and  when  as- 
sured of  the  abilities  of  the  youth,  pre- 
sented him  to  the  venerable  Bishop  Bara- 
ga who  adopted  young  Eis,  July  21,  1861, 
as  a  student  of  the  diocese.  The  Civil 
War  had  unsettled  the  institutions  of 
learning  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
Salesianum  of  St.  Francis,  Wisconsin, 
was  not  excepted.  Among  other  students 
Frederick  Eis  also  interrupted  his  classi- 
cal course  there  and,  at  the  desire  of  Bish- 
( ip  Baraga,  went  to  the  College  of  Joliet, 
Canada,  where  he  remained  till  he  com- 
pleted the  course  of  philosophy  and  theol- 
ogy.    During  his  last  years  at  that  Col- 


was  sent  to  Menominee  to  clear  an  old 
church  debt — Father  Eis  remained  in  Xe- 
gaunee  ten  years  and  although  his  zeal 
had  left  its  indelible  marks  in  the  congre- 
gations where  he  had  labored,  it  was  here 
that  he  tangibly  established  his  worth. 
He  first  paid  off  the  small  remaining  debt, 
and  then  built  the  house  and  the  school, 
both  of  brick,  at  the  cost  of  nine  thou- 
sand dollars,  but  with  no  indebtedness.  In 
November  1S90  he  resigned  his  charge 
to  restore  his  failing  health.  During  the 
following  five  winters  he  sojourned  in 
Colorado  and  California,  but  returned  in 
the  summer  to  the  bracing  climate  of 
Michigan.  Two  successive  summers, 
1894    and     1895,     he    temporarily    had 


S    '<&Ac4>&n/>         yytcj^tess*'    -,*'£>>*-<^c&'£Sj  ■  &. 


V 


''*4/m**US    v~  //'?■"*#< ^  y   S-'****' 


t&f** 


**J.) 


FACSIMILE  OF  ATTEST  OF  Blbllor  Elb     CONSECRATION. 


lege  he  was  employed  as  teacher  of  Eng- 
lish. Mathematics  and  the  Commercial 
course. 

After  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood 
by  Bishop  Mrak,  October  30,  1870,  Fath- 
er Eis  was  made  pastor  at  the  Cathedral 
in  Marquette,  and  remained  there  three 
years.  In  October  1873  he  succeeded 
Father  Jacker  at  the  Sacred  Heart  church 
in  Calumet.  One  year  thereafter,  Bishop 
Mrak  appointed  him  pastor  of  St.  Anne's 
in  Hancock,  where  he  remained  six  years. 
Tn  October  1880  he  succeeded  Bishop 
Mrak,  his  former  Ordinary,  in  the  pasto- 
rate at  Negaunee.  With  the  exception  of 
a  few  weeks, — the  fall  of  1880,  when  he 


charge  of  the  Bessemer  parish.  In  the 
fall  of  1895  he  accepted  the  parish  of 
Crystal  Falls  where  he  remained  until 
his  appointment  as  administrator  of  the 
diocese,  March  4th  1899.  and  three 
months  later  as  bishop  of  Marquette. 

Bishop-elect  set  the  twenty  fourth  of 
August,  the  feast  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
for  his  consecration.  During  the  time 
intervening  preparations  were  being 
made  for  the  event  in  and  around  the 
Cathedral.  Members  of  the  two  city 
parishes  took  it  upon  themselves  to  take 
care  of  the  decorations  which  were  car- 
ried out  mainly  in  drapery,  though  flow- 
ers were  not  wanting.     Inside  the  church 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


331 


the  heavy  hangings  were  crimson,  set 
off  by  the  papal  white  and  yellow.  Over 
the  entrance  were  long  streamers  to  the 
right  and  left  in  papal  colors  of  white  and 
vellow,  flanked  lower  down  on  either  side 
by  large  American  flags.  Just  above  the 
entrance  was  the  Bishop's  crest  of  arms, 
adopted  traditionally  from  his  predeces- 
sors. 

The  consecration  of  Bishop  Eis  awoke 
much  interest  in  the  diocese,  because  in 
itself  episcopal  consecration  is  a  rare 
occurrence  and  the  great  majority  of 
the  laity  seldom  have  an  occasion  to 
witness  it:  and  then  it  was  the  first 
consecration  of  a  bishop  in  the  Cathe- 
dral at  Marquette.  For  these  reasons 
the  over-crowding- of  the  large  edifice 
was  well  anticipated.  Admission  was 
by  ticket  and  the  unselfishness  of  the 
city  folks  was  indeed  commendable, 
giving  the  preference  to  the  visitors, 
although  a  great  many  of  both  had  to 
satisfy  themselves  with  looking-on  at 
the  magnificent  procession  to  and 
from  the  Cathedral. 

At  the  joyous  ringing  of  bells,  at 
half  past  nine,  the  procession  formed 
at  the  bishop's  residence.  Following 
the  archiepiscopal  cross  came  the  vested 
altar  boys,  priests,  bishops  with  their 
chaplains,  the  two  co-consecrators  with 
their  attendants,  the  bishop-elect  with  his 
assistants,  and  last  Archbishop  Katzer 
with  the  officers  of  the  Mass.  The  strains 
of  "Ecce  Sacerdos  Magnus"  are  always 
inspiring  but  they  seemed  particularly  so 
on  that  occasion,  because  the  words 
sweetly  proclaimed  the  coming  of  the  new 
bishop. 

Ranged  about  the  spacious  sanctuary 


priests  and  bishops  afforded  a  splendid 
sight.  They  were:  Consecrator,  Arch- 
bishop Katzer,  Milwaukee;  first  assistant 
bishop,  Bishop  Schwebach,  La  Crosse, 
Wisconsin ;  second  assistant  bishop,  Bish- 
op Messner,  Green  Hay,  Wisconsin;  as- 
sistant priest  to  Archbishop  Katzer,  Fath- 
er Bourion,  Menominee;  deacon  of  the 
Mass,  Father  Becker,  Norway;  subdea- 
con,  Father  Kehoe,  Ironwood ;  deacons  of 
honor,     Fathers     Langner,     Negaunee; 


BISHOP  EIS  ON   HIS   WAY  TO  HIS  CONSECRATION 

Peter  Welling,  Calumet ;  Chaplains  to  the 
Rt.  Rev.  bishop-elect,  Fathers  Atfield, 
Hancock,  Pinten.  Marquette;  chaplains  to 
Bishop  Schwebach,  Fathers  Rezek, 
Houghton,  Zimmermann,  Dollar  Bay; 
chaplains  to  Bishop  Messmer,  Fathers 
Keller,  Hancock,  Boissonault,  Calumet; 
masters  of  ceremonies,  Fathers  Langan, 
Ishpeming,  Corcoran,  Marquette;  notary, 
Father  Keller,  Hancock;  thurifer,  Father 
Dasylva,    Ishpeming;    acolytes,    Fathers 


332 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Miller,  Mackinac  Island,  Nosbisch  Iron 
Mountain;  chanters,  Fathers  Geers,  Re- 
public, Sauriol,  Escanaba ;  candle  bearer, 
Father  Barth,  Stephenson ;  cross  bearer. 
Father  Lenhart,  Iron  River;  aspersorium, 
Father  Hollinger,  Gladstone;  chaplain  to 
Bishop  Mrak,  Father  Terhorst,  Baraga ; 
chaplain  to  Bishop  Shanley,  Father  Keul, 
Crystal  Falls ;  chaplain  to  Bishop  Foley, 
Father  Baumgartner,  -Detroit ;  chaplain 
to  Bishop  Richter,  Father  Faust,  Me- 
nominee. There  were  about  thirty  other 
priests  in  the  sanctuary. 

The  Pontifical  High-Mass  and  the  con- 
secration lasted  over  four  hours.  At  the 
close  the  new  bishop  was  inthroned 
amidst  the  singing  of  "Te  Deum"  by  al- 
most the  entire  assembly. 

For  the  occasion  Bishop  Shanley  of 
Fargo,  North  Dakota,  delivered  the  ser- 
mon. In  marked  sentences  he  developed 
the  apostolic  succession  in  the  Catholic 
church,  showing  how  the  gift  of  episcopal 
consecration  makes  one  the  true  succes- 
sor of  the  Apostles.  In  conclusion  he 
said  in  part :  "This  brilliant  ceremonial 
you  have  seen  this  morning,  this  crimson 
and  gold,  is  by  no  means  a  meaningless 
show.  I  might  say,  that  it  is  the  impart- 
ing of  divine  power  upon  a  priest  of  the 
holy  Church,  a  priest  of  twenty-nine  years 
of  faithful  labor  in  this  part  of  God's 
vineyard,  who  has  been  found  worthy  in 
the  eyes  of  his  fellow  priests  and  his  eccle- 
siastical superiors  to  be  elevated  to  this 
high  office  in  the  Church. 

"What  is  the  priesthood?  The  priest- 
hood of  the  Church  of  the  living  God  is 
God's  minister  and  dispenser  of  his 
graces,  the  teacher  of  immutable  truth, 
the  sacrificer  (for  that  reason  the  media- 
tor between  God  and  man)  the  model  of 


all  God's  flock.  T  will  not  call  you  ser- 
vants, you  are  my  friends,'  sent  to  teach 
and  preach,  given  the  power  to  consecrate 
bread  and  wine  and  receiving  the  Holy 
Ghost  with  power  to  forgive  sins  and  re- 
tain them.  This  is  the  mission  Christ  im- 
parted himself  to  poor  weak  men.  That 
is  the  priesthood  of  the  Church,  and  a 
bishop  is  nothing  but  a  priest  with  the 
plentitude  of  these  powers  within  the  holy 
Church. 

"I  remind  you  of  the  high  dignity  of 
the  priesthood,  the  dignity  which  is  called 
by  one  of  the  early  fathers  a  divine  dig- 
nity. Another  ancient  writer  declares 
that  the  very  angels  of  God  bow  down 
before  Christ  as  the  precursor  of  the 
priesthood.  You  will  understand  now 
why  such  care  is  used  in  selecting  and 
training  young  men  to  the  priesthood. 
The  first  requisite  is  that  mysterious  some- 
thing which  we  call  the  vocation.  The 
second  requisite  of  the  worthy  priest  is 
piety,  not  piety  exteriorly,  but  real,  sin- 
cere piety — 'Be  ye  holy  as  I  am  holy;' 
The  third  requisite  is  learning,  accurate 
and  profound,  not  merely  a  knowledge 
of  the  sciences  called  sacred,  but  an  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  all  sciences  which 
have  any  bearing  upon  religion.  There 
is  no  branch  of  human  knowledge  in 
which  a  priest  might  not  be  versed,  it  is 
his  duty  to  become  well  versed,  that  he 
may  be  a  true  and  capable  leader  of  his 
flock.  The  fourth  essential  of  the  priest- 
hood of  the  High  God  is  a  burning  but 
a  prudent  zeal.  He  must  imitate  the  di- 
vine master  who  went  about  preaching 
the  truth,  must  know  neither  Jew  nor 
Gentile.  Every  man  has  a  soul  to  be 
saved  and  it  is  the  priest's  duty  to  save 
souls. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


333 


"  'Jesus  went  about  doing  good.'  There 
is  the  motto  for  the  priesthood.  Where 
you  rind  a  priesthood  with  the  vocation, 
learning  and  zeal  you  find  the  true  church 
of  God,  and  where  you  find  such  a  priest- 
hood you  find  the  holy  Church  flourish- 
ing. Taking  this  as  a  test  for  the  Upper 
Peninsula,  I  am  led  to  believe  it  has  had  a 
priesthood  acceptable  to  the  divine  Mas- 
ter. 

"The  cross  was  planted  in  these  wilds 
two  hundred  years  ago  by  missionaries 
who  carried  the  gospel  to  the  Ottawas 
and  the  Chippewas  who  then  inhabited 
the  region.  Their  names  will  live  as  long 
as  history.  Pius  IX.  of  holy  memory  in 
1853  instituted  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  to  place  in  charge 
of  it  he  selected  a  man  than  whom  no 
greater  ever  labored  for  the  Church  on 
American  soil,  the  beloved  Frederic  Ba- 
raga. I  know  not  how  to  sound  the 
praises  of  the  beloved  Father  Frederic 
Baraga.  Filled  with  a  zeal  surpassed 
only  by  the  apostles,  a  man  educated  in 
the  colleges  of  Europe,  of  remarkable 
piety.  I  firmly  believe  that  we  will  see 
his  name  inscribed  with  the  saints  of  the 
Church. 

"Baraga  was  a  model  priest  and  a 
model  bishop.  He  planted  the  seeds  of 
Christianity  in  these  Lake  Superior  wilds 
and  he  planted  them  deep.  Others  have 
come  after  and  watered  the  soil  but  it  was 
to  his  planting,  there  is  due  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  development  and  Christian 
civilization  we  see  here  today. 

"He  was  a  man  of  prayer  as  we  are 
told  by  those  who  knew  him  well.  That 
he  was  a  man  of  education  we  know'  from 
his  books.  The  story  of  his  zeal  reads 
like  an  excerpt  from  the  life  of  St.  Paul. 


His  vicariate  in  1S53  had  twelve  mission- 
ary stations,  eleven  priests  and  five  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  Indian  souls. 

"When  the  good  Master  saw  fit  to  call 
him  to  his  rest,  he  raised  up  another  of 
whom  I  need  say  little  as  he  sits  within 
the  railing  yonder,  burdened  with  years. 
He  was  a  faithful  missionary  to  the  In- 
dians, elevated  to  be  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
which  office  he  humbly  resigned  when 
burdened  by  ill  health. 


REV.    ADOLPH    SCHNEIDER. 

"Then  was  raised  up  the  late  lamented 
Bishop  Vertin,  who  has  left  better  monu- 
ments to  his  name  than  those  of  stone. 
Three  bishops,  and  each  a  model,  in  his 
own  particular  way.  Now  a  new  bishop 
comes.  He  is  not  an  unknown  man,  but 
backed  by  twenty-nine  years  of  priestly 
work,   he  is   rewarded  by  promotion  to 


334 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


this  high  position.  A  protege  of  Bishop 
Baraga,  he  now  succeeds  to  his  crozier 
and  will  walk  in  his  footsteps.  The  clergy 
know  the  new  bishop.  He  knows  them. 
They  have  worked  shoulder  to  shoulder 
these  many  years.  Such  a  bishop  and 
such  a  clergy  can  work  miracles! 

"But  the  bishop  and  priests,  no  matter 
how  zealous,  will  fall  short  in  the  work 
they  seek  to  accomplish  but  for  the  aid 
of  the  laity.  I  am  told  that  the  laity  of 
the  Upper  Peninsula  has  always  been 
ready  with  its  help,  and  I  want  to  say  to 
you  that  now  that  a  new  bishop  is  at  the 
helm,  is  the  time  for  your  help.  Lighten 
his  burden  as  much  as  you  can,  and  the 
diocese,  founded  so  well  by  Baraga,  fos- 
tered by  Mrak  and  by  the  late  Bishop 
Yertin,  will  be  brought  to  a  magnificent 
fruition  under  Bishop  Lis."  ' 

Xo  bishop  could  come  to  a  diocese 
under  more  favorable  conditions  than  did 
Bishop  Eis.  He  was  no  stranger,  he 
knew  the  sentiments  of  his  clergy  and 
withal  had  no  difficult  problems  before 
him.  The  internal  relations  of  the  dio- 
cese were  happily  agreeable,  and  the  new 
Bishop  peacefully  took  up  his  duties 
where  his  predecessor  left  off.  A  priest 
can  always  find  work  in  his  parish  no 
matter  how  well  regulated  it  may  be,  and 
so  can  a  bishop  in  his  diocese.  The  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  his  diocese  served 
Bishop  Eis  exceedingly  well.  He  set  out 
at  once  visiting  smaller  missions  with  a 
view  of  sending  permanent  pastors  to 
them.  At  first  there  were  opposite  opin- 
ions in  the  matter  but  his  own  opinion 
prevailed  and  we  saw  Atlantic.  Perkins, 
Bark  River  and  Wakefield,  etc..  erected 
into  new  parishes,  prospering  under  the 

1  Mining  Journal,  August  25,  1899. 


wise  direction  of  their  new  pastors.  The 
old  adage  'nothing  ventured,  nothing 
gained,'  had  again  asserted  its  correct- 
ness. The  division  of  the  St.  Joseph's 
parish  in  Escanaba  was  also  successfully 
effected  and  the  new,  prosperous  parish 
of  St.  Patrick  established.  At  this  writ- 
ing a  new  church,  the  nucleus  of  another 
parish  is  being  built  at  Flat  Rock.  Since 
1899  new,  modern,  and  substantial 
churches  were  erected ;  in  Calumet  three, 
the  French,  Slovenian  and  the  Croatian; 
St.  Ignatius  in  Houghton,  Holy  Rosary 
in  Lake  Linden,  the  Italian  church  in  Iron 
Mountain,  St.  Francis  Xavier's  in  Spald- 
ing, St.  Patrick's  in  Escanaba.  At  least 
two  schools,  the  St.  John's  in  Menominee 
and  that  of  St.  Cecelia's  in  Hubbell, 
opened  doors  to  five  hundred  children,  the 
first  one  employing  five  and  the  last  one 
nine  teachers.  A  new,  in  every  respect 
modern  hospital,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  was  built  at 
Hancock. 

In  languages  the  diocese  represents 
possibly  the  greatest  complex  likely  not 
tqualed  by  any  other  diocese  in  the  Un- 
ion. There  are  upward  of  seventeen  lan- 
guages actually  used  in  confessional  and 
pulpit.  The  younger  generation  is  dis- 
tinctly American.  They  speak  and  write 
English  in  preference  to  their  mother 
tongue.  They  naturally  attend  churches 
which  their  fathers  have  built,  but  that 
they  may  not  be  neglected,  Bishop  Eis 
wrote  to  the  pastors:  "Preach  in  the  lan- 
guages your  people  understand  as  much 
as  possible.  The  children  of  our  parishes 
generally  speak  the  English  language 
best,  the  language  of  our  country,  no  mat- 
ter of  what  nationality  their  parents  may 
be.     This  every  pastor  must  have  noticed. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


335 


"Now,  in  order  that  these  children  also 
hear  and  understand  the  word  of  God, 
we  ordain,  that  in  all  the  parish  churches 
of  this  diocese,  no  matter  of  what  nation- 
ality, a  short  sermon  must  be  preached 
in  the  English  language  regularly  on  two 
Sundays  in  each  month,  at  low  Mass. 

"Any  pastor  not  complying  with  this 
ordinance  leaves  himself  open  to  repri- 
mand, unless  excused  for  reasons  by  the 
Bishop."  - 

In  July  1900,  Bishop  Eis  accompanied 
by  Father  Pinten  made  his  first  visit  to 
the  Apostolic  See,  and  had  the  honor  ami 
pleasure  of  giving  report  of  his  diocese 
still  into  the  hands  of  the  venerable  Pon- 
tiff, Leo  XIII.  from  whom  he  had  re- 
ceived his  elevation  to  the  episcopate. 

In  the  third  week  of  July  1905  the  bi- 
ennial Retreat  took  place  in  the  church  of 
the  HdIv  Name  at  Assinins.  After  the 
close,  Friday  July  21st,  the  Ordinary  con- 
vened the  Second  Synod  of  the  Diocese. 

From  among  the  clergy  in  the  diocese, 
the  following  were  ordained  or  received 
into  the  diocese  by  Bishop  Eis : 

Rev.  Peter  F.  Manderfield,  August  24, 
1900. 

Rev.  Adolph  F.  Schneider.  June  1, 
1 901. 

Rev.  Frederick  Richter,  June  13.  1901. 

Rev.  Raymond  Jacques,  July  7,  1901. 


Circular,  October  21,  1900. 


Rev.  Charles  J.  Swoboda,  June  21, 
1902. 

Rev.  William  B.  Stahl,  August  10, 
1902. 

Rev.  J.  Harrington  for  La  Crosse,  Sep- 
tember 1,  1902. 

Rev.  Paul  Le  Golvan,  September  20, 
1902. 

Rev.  Martin  C.  Sommers,  September 
20,   1902. 

Rev.  Adelor  Deschamps,  March  7, 
1003. 

Rev.  Henry  J.  Reis,  June  11,  1903  by 
HMiop  Mueller  in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Rev.  Bernard  Eiling,  June  11,  1903  by 
ISishop  Moeller  in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Rev.  Xapoleon  J.  Raymond,  July  26. 
1903. 

Rev.  Theo.  Bateski,  July  19,  1903. 

Rev.  Paul  Filion,  July  19,  1903. 

Rev.  Joseph  Dittman,  March  20,  1904 
in  Toronto  by  Bishop  O'Connor. 

Rev.   Luke   Klopcic,  April  4,    1004. 

Rev.  John  Stenglein,  December  17, 
1004,   Propaganda.   Rome. 

Rev.  Owen.  J.  Bennett,  June  17,  1905. 

Rev.  Jeremiah  Moriarty,  June  17. 
1905. 

Rev.  Joseph  Lamott,  June  17,  1905. 

Rev.  Joseph  Duford,  Escanaba,  June 
10,  1906. 

Rev.  George  Laforest.  Calumet,  June 
24,    1906. 


Chapter     XIV. 
BIOGRAPHICAL     SKETCHES. 

Rev.  Samuel  Mazzuchelli,  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Haetscher,   Rev.  Simon  Saendcrl, 

Rev.  Andrew  D.  J.  Pirct,  Rev.  Francis  Pierz,  Rev.  Otton  Skolla,  0.  S.  F., 

Rev.  Lawrence  Dunne,  Rev.  Henry  L.    Thiele,  Rev.  Edward  Jacker, 

Rev.  Martin  Fox,  Rev.  John  Cebul.  Rev.  Honoratus 

Bourion,  Rev.  Gerhard  Tcrhorst. 


REV.  SAMUEL  CHARLES  MAZZU- 
CHELLI, O.  P. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  ser- 
vices which  Father  Mazzuchelli  rendered 
the  Church.  His  labors  extended  over 
many  states,  although  the  center  of  his 
activity  was  Wisconsin.  He  began  his 
missionary  career  on  Mackinac  Island. 
Born  in  Milan.  Italy,  on  November  4, 
1806.  he  received  his  early  education  in 
his  native  city.  A  youth  of  seventeen  he 
entered  the  Dominican  Order  and  was 
given  the  name  of  Augustin.  He  made 
his  solemn  profession  at  the  convent  of 
his  Order  in  the  city  of  Faenza,  Italy,  on 
the  sixth  of  December  1824,  and  was  sent 
to  Santa  Sabina  Convent  in  Rome  to  con- 
tinue his  studies.  In  1S27  Bishop  Ed- 
ward Fenwick,  who  was  also  a  Domini- 
can, came  to  Rome  and  begged  the  Mast- 
er General  to  send  some  priest  with  him  to 
America.  As  none  were  available  Fra 
Augustino,  who  was  then  only  subdea- 
con,  offered  himself  and  obtained  permis- 


sion to  go.  In  May  of  the  following  year 
he  left  Rome.  After  visiting  his  home  at 
Milan,  he  spent  a  few  months  in  France 
to  familiarize  himself  better  with  the 
French  language.  He  sailed  from  Havre 
on  the  fifth  of  October  and  arrived  in  the 
New  World  on  November  14th.  In  Cin- 
cinnati Bishop  Fenwick  received  him  with 
great  cordiality  and  interested  himself  in 
the  welfare  of  the  young  man.  First,  ar- 
rangement was  made  for  the  study  of  the 
English  language  and  lessons  were  kept 
up  daily  until  Christmas.  Then,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  Bishop,  Fra  Augustino 
went  to  Springfield,  Kentucky,  but  re- 
turned in  March,  having  spent  three 
months  profitably  among  his  brethren  at 
St.  Rose's  Convent.  In  July  he  was  made 
deacon  and  sent  to  Somerset,  Ohio  to  pre- 
pare for  the  priesthood.  On  September 
5,  1830  he  was  ordained  priest  in  the 
Cathedral  at  Cincinnati. 

Anxious  to  go  to  the  missions,  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  make  known  his  desires  to 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


337 


his  bishop,  whom  he  revered  as  a  father. 
Bishop  Fenwick,  for  his  part,  did  not 
wish  to  check  the  praiseworthy  zeal  of 
the  young  priest.  Considering  his  knowl- 
edge of  French  he  thought  he  would  be 
most  useful  along  the  'Great  Lakes' 
where  there  were  scattered  many  Cana- 
dian French.  Father  Dejean  who  had 
li "  iked  after  this  mission-field  from  Arbre 
Croche  had  departed  for  France.  Hence, 
there  was  not  a  priest  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Lakes,  from  the  Sault  to 
Green  Bay.  Father  Mazzuchelli  arriving 
on  Mackinac  Island  took  up  his  residence 
there.  His  first  baptism  is  recorded  on 
the  19th  of  November  1830  and  the  last 
July  30,  1833.  During  this  period  of 
time  he  conferred  two  hundred  and  thir- 
teen baptisms,  conditionally  and  uncondi- 
tionally, upon  infants  and  adults,  rang- 
ing" in  ages  up  to  fifty  years  and  one  Pat- 
rick McGulpin  stands  out  most  promi- 
nently, being  received  into  the  Church  at 
the  age  of  ninety  one.  It  is  not  apparent 
from  the  register  whether  all  these  were 
actually  baptized  on  Mackinac  Island  or 
not,  but  if  they  were  or  were  not,  they 
attest  to  the  great  activity  of  Father 
Mazzuchelli  who  needs  must  have  taken 
pains  in  instructing  the  adults,  of  whom 
there  were  not  a  few.  before  christening 
them. 

Before  the  winter  of  1830  isolated  the 
Island,  Father  Mazzuchelli  went  to  Green 
Bay,  two  hundred  miles  distant.  "Its 
population  comprised  one  thousand  souls, 
and  among  them  he  found  a  Catholic 
people  of  the  same  races  as  those  on  the 
island,  and  equally  ignorant  of  religion. 
There  being  no  other  place  large  enough 
for  his  congregation,  he  celebrated  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  in  a  granary.    Only  a  few 


of  the  long-neglected  and  ill-instructed 
people  were  inclined  to  receive  the  sacra- 
ments." '  In  May  1831  he.  again  visited 
Green  Bay. 

In  August  183 1  we  find  him  in  the 
Sault.  'Standing  under  the  shade  of  a 
stately  oak,  he  preached,  as  did  the  apos- 
tles of  old,  under  the  blue  sky,  to  the  peo- 


REV.    FRANCIS    H.    SWIFT.      LOANED    FROM    THE 
SPRINGFIELD      DIOCESE,      MASS.,     NOW     AT 
THE     SACRED     HEART     CHURCH,     WORCES- 
TER,   MASS. 

pie  seated  upon  the  grass.  Many  times, 
in  the  few  days  he  spent  there,  did  he 
thus  address  the  people  in  this,  'one  of 
God's  first  temples."  A  few  confessions, 
several  marriages,  and  many  baptisms  of 
children  made  up  the  slender  harvest  of 

1  Golden  Bells  in  Convent  Towers  by  the 
Dominican  Sisters  of  Sinsinawa  Mound.  Wis- 
consin, who  on  the  occasion  of  the  Golden  Jubi- 
lee of  St.  Clara  Convent  prepared  'The  Story  of 
Father  Samuel  and  Saint  Clara'  mostly  taken 
from  the  memoirs  of  Father  Mazzuchelli,  their 
founder. 


338 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


this  first  visit  to  a  people  long  deprived 
of  the  ministrations  of  a  priest.  The  non- 
Catholics  of  the  place  showed  him  many 
courtesies.  The  commandant  of  the 
American  fort  invited  him  to  dine  and  a 
soldier  gave  him  the  use  of  his  apartment 
in  the  fort,  that  he  might  preach  to  the 
officers  and   their   families  though   there 


REV.     THOS.     A.     KENNEDY.        LOANED     FROM     THE 

DIOCESE     OF     SPRINGFIELD,     MASS.,     NOW     AT 

NORTH    ADAMS,    MASS. 

was  but  one  Catholic  among  them."  2 

In  May  183 1  Father  Baraga  passed 
the  Island  on  his  way  to  Arbre  Croche  but 
did  not  find  Father  Mazzuchelli  at  home, 
as  he  was  just  about  that  time  at  his 
Green  Bay  mission.  The  two  mission- 
aries, therefore,  did  not  meet  until  the  fol- 

2  Op.  cit. 


lowing  winter.  Having  attended  to  all 
his  missions  for  the  season,  Father  Maz- 
zuchelli journeyed  to  Arbre  Croche  for  a 
visit  to  his  neighbor.  "These  devoted 
men,  both  lonely  and  isolated,  and  both 
leading  lives  of  heroic  sacrifice  far  from 
kindred  and  friends  met  each  other  with 
inexpressible  emotions  of  joy  and  conso- 
lation. In  his  Memoirs  Father  Mazzu- 
chelli describes  his  journey  over  the  ice- 
bound waters  of  the  lake,  in  company 
with  a  few  Indians  and  tells  how  they 
passed  the  bitter  January  nights  on  beds 
of  pine  twigs  beside  a  fire  that  gave  most 
of  its  heat  to  space.  The  priest  said  his 
beads ;  the  Indians  sang  hymns ;  and  then, 
in  spite  of  much  physical  discomfort,  all 
slept  the  sleep  of  peace. 

"Finally  they  arrived  at  the  place 
where  the  venerable  Father  Baraga 
dwelt,  and  found  it  a  sort  of  earthly  para- 
dise of  religious  practice.  Think  of  a 
village  where  the  whole  population  arose, 
in  the  morning,  at  the  sound  of  the  Ange- 
las bell,  and  in  a  few  minutes  repaired 
to  the  church  for  morning  prayers  and  the 
Holy  Mass !  To  behold  such  a  scene  gave 
the  visitor  unspeakable  joy.  Refreshed 
and  comforted  by  his  brief  sojourn  in 
Father  Baraga's  holy  little  village,  the 
missionary  labored  with  renewed  zeal  on 
his  return  to  his  own  flock." 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1832  Father 
Mazzuchelli  spent  two  months  at  Green 
Bay,  returning  home  in  July  he  found 
there  to  his  great,  agreeable  surprise  Bish- 
op Fenwick  and  a  young  priest.  The 
three  preached  a  Missions  to  the  Island- 
ers. This  was  the  last  visit  of  Bishop 
Fenwick  to  this  section  of  the  country,  he 
died  on  his  way  home.     Parting  with  his 

3  Op.  cit. 


S.-1ULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


339 


Bishop,  August  15th,  he  turned  his  steps 
to  the  Sault  where  there  awaited  him 
abundant  labor  sweetened  by  an  abundant 
harvest.  During  the  first  six  days  of  his 
stay  he  blessed  thirty  two  marriages 
civilly  contracted  in  the  absence  of  a 
priest.  From  the  Sault  he  went  to  Macki- 
nac and  from  there  to  Green  Bay  and 
penetrated  down  to  the  Mississippi,  reach- 
ing Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  22nd  of  Sep- 
tember ( 1832). 

While  he  was  busy  at  the  Mississippi 
towns,  the  Redemptorists  had  arrived  at 
Green  Bay.  Relieved  from  the  care  of 
this  misson  Father  Mazzuchelli  returned 
to  Mackinac  where  he  labored  until  July 
of  the  following  year.  The  last  baptism 
recorded  by  him  is  that  of  James  Henry 
Wendell,  July  23,  1833. 

By  the  erection  of  the  Diocese  of  De- 
troit the  Northwest  almost  lost  the  ser- 
vices of  this  energetic  missionary.  Wish- 
ins'  to  retain  him  within  the  diocese  of 
Cincinnati,  where  he  had  been  ordained, 
the  Vicar-Provincial  directed  him  to  re- 
turn. A  timely  intervention  on  the  part 
of  Bishop  Rese  rescinded  the  order  and 
Father  Mazzuchelli  was  permitted  to 
continue  his  mission  among  the  Winne- 
bagoes.  But  he  longed  to  have  a  confer- 
ence with  his  brethren  in  Ohio.  Accord- 
ingly he  made  up  his  mind  to  undertake 
the  journey  at  the  first  opportunity.  This 
presented  itself  while  he  was  at  Prairie 
du  Chien  in  April,  1835.  A  ride  of  forty 
miles  brought  him  to  Galena,  Illinois.  In 
this  town  he  found  numerous  Catholics 
without  a  church  or  the  administration 
of  religion.  Moved  with  pity  he  inter- 
rupted his  journey  to  administer  the  nec- 
essary sacraments.  While  thus  busily 
engaged,  he  learned  of  the  like  condition 


prevailing  at  Dubuque,  across  the  Icwan 
border,  and  to  them,  too,  he  extended  his 
services.  The  two  towns  urged  the  good 
Father  to  remain  but  as  he  had  no  au- 
thority to  do  so,  he  pushed  on  his  journey 
towards  St.  Louis  where,  for  a  brief  time, 
he  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Bishop 
Rosati. 

In  Cincinnati  he  paid  his  respects  to 
Bishop  Purcell  and  then  traveled  an  ad- 
ditional hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Som- 
erset, the  center  of  the  Dominicans  in 
Ohio.  Taking  council  of  his  brethren,  it 
was  decided  that  he  should  return  to  his 
labors  in  the  Northwest.  This  meant  an- 
other journey  of  one  thousand  three  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  July,  1835. 

While  Father  Mazzuchelli  was  making 
this  trip  the  citizens  of  Galena  and  Du- 
buque addressed  themselves  directly  to 
the  Master  General  of  the  Dominicans 
in  Rome,  who  graciously  granted  their 
request  by  sending  Father  Mazzuchelli 
to  them.  Knowing  that  there  were  other 
priests  to  fill  his  place,  the  good  priest  so 
much  more  readily  went  to  his  new  field 
of  labor.  As  a  result  of  his  stirring  ac- 
tivity churches  were  successively  built  in 
Dubuque,  Galena,  Davenport,  Burling- 
ton, Iowa  City,  Bloomington.  Bellevue, 
Shullsburg  and  many  others. 

How  much  his  services  were  appre- 
ciated by  the  people  would  be  impossible 
to  commit  to  paper.  In  what  esteem  he 
was  held,  two  honors  which  came  to 
him  may  convey  some  idea.  In  1836  the 
Territory  of  Wisconsin,  embracing  the 
present  territory  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
was  organized  at  Mineral  Point,  and  the 
first  Legislature  convened  at  Belmont, 
Lafayette  County,  October  25th.  in  the 


340 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


same  year.  Although  there  were  only 
two  Catholic  members  in  that  body 
Father  Mazzuchelli  was  chosen  chaplain. 
On  account  of  his  many  distant  missions 
he  held  the  office  only  one  week.  Again, 
the  Diocese  of  Dubuque  was  established 
in  1837,  and  its  first  bishop.  Rt.  Rev. 
Mathias  Loras,  consecrated  on  Decem- 
ber 10th  in  the  same  year.  At  his  de- 
parture for  Europe  in  search  of  priests. 


REV.  SAMUEL  C.    MAZZUCHELLI..  O.P. 

the  new  bishop  made  Father  Mazzuchelli 
administrator  and  Vicar  General  of  the 
diocese,  which  latter  office  he  held  for  fif- 
teen years. 

In  1842  we  find  Father  Mazzuchelli  at 
Sinsinawa  Mound,  Wisconsin,  minister- 
ing to  the  Irish  and  German  farmers  and 
miners.  He  erected  for  them  the  new 
church  of  St.  Augustin.  His  restless  ac- 
tivity brought  on  the  illness  of  two  years 


ago,  and  he  was  obliged  to  take  a  trip  to 
his  native  Milan  for  the  restoration  of  his 
health.  After  an  absence  of  a  year  and  a 
half,  he  returned  to  the  United  States  on 
August  1,  1844.  In  Galena  he  acciden- 
tally met  Colonel  George  W.  Jones,  U.  S. 
A.,  and  we  might  say  'accidentally'  pur- 
chased the  General's  large  property  at 
Sinsinawa. 

This  purchase  changed  Father  Maz- 
zuchelli's  course  in  life.  He  had  con- 
ceived an  idea  of  establishing  a  Domini- 
can community,  having  charge  of  a  col- 
lege for  the  education  of  young  men. 
Suitable  buildings  were  erected  and  the 
Sinsinawa  College  was  incorporated 
March  11,  1848,  with  university  privi- 
leges by  a  special  act  of  legislature.  Thus 
he  became  College  director,  which  only 
added  new  duties  and  responsibilities  to 
those  of  a  missionary  which  he  had  borne 
si )  bravely  for  so  many  years.  But  when 
he  noticed  that  the  former  were  en- 
croaching upon  the  latter,  he  promptly 
transferred  his  property  and  all  to  the 
:  Dominican  Fathers  of  St.  Rose's  Con- 
sent of  Kentucky  and  withdrew  to  the 
parish  of  Benton,  Lafayette  County, 
Wisconsin,  to  serve  the  people  as  an 
humble  missionary.  There  was  no  resi- 
dence for  the  priest  there,  but  Father 
Mazzuchelli  found  it  more  congenial  to 
occupy  the  sacristy  and  to  take  his  meals 
at  a  parishioner's  table  than  to  live  com- 
fortably at  the  college. 

In  Benton,  once  more,  his  creative 
genius  developed  his  power.  He  gath- 
ered the  Dominican  Sisters  from  the 
neighborhood  into  a  large  frame  house 
and  bade  them  open  the  'Sinsinawa  Fe- 
male Academy'  which  he  fostered  with 
all   paternal   care   until   his   blessed   end 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


341 


which  unexpectedly  came  on  the  morning 
of  February  23,  1S64. 

In  1866  the  Dominican  Fathers  decid- 
ed to  discontinue  the  Sinsinawa  College 
and  offered  it  for  sale.  With  the  aid  of 
generous  Catholics  the  Sisters  bought  it 
and  the  new  St.  Clara  Academy  opened 
its  doors  to  pupils  on  the  first  Monday 
in  September,  1S67. 

In  the  village  graveyard  at  Benton  a 
simple  stone  marks  the  spot  where  Rev. 
Samuel    Charles    Mazzuchelli    found    his 


at  that  time  Vicar  General  of  Cincinnati, 
the  Superior  of  the  Redemptorist  Fath- 
ers at  Vienna,  the  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Pas- 
serat,  sent  two  priests  and  three  lay- 
brothers  to  America.  They  first  came  to 
Cincinnati,  but  Father  Rese  having  be- 
ci  mie  bishop  of  Detroit,  it  was  natural 
that  their  first  apostolic  labors  should  be 
in  his  diocese.  In  August,  1832,  Father 
Haetscher  came  with  his  companions  to 
Detroit  where  his  arrival  was  providen- 
tial indeed.     The  cholera  having  broken 


THE  GRAVE  OF  FATHER   ANDREW    ANDOLSHEK.      BORN    IN    REIFNITZ, 
CARNIOLIA,    SEPTEMBER    2/,     iSj/.       DIED    AT    EAGLE     HARBOR, 
JUNE    23,    1S82,    AND    IS    BURIED   THERE. 


resting  place,  but  his  memory  blest,  lives 
on  in  the  good  accomplished  annually  by 
the  Sinsinawa  St.  Clara  Academy. 
REV.     FRANCIS     XAVIER     HAET- 
SCHER, C.SS.R. 

Since  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries 
Father  Haetscher  was  the  first  stationary 
priest  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  as  such 
opened  a  new  page  in  the  annals  of  our 
diocesan  history. 

At  the  urgent  request,  in  person  and 
by  letter,  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick  Rese, 


out,  and  the  only  priest,  Father  Richard, 
being  stricken  by  the  plague,  there  was 
an  extensive  field  for  his  zeal.  Conver- 
sant with  English  and  French  as  well  as 
with  German,  he  could  multiply  his  min- 
istrations so  much  so  that  when  the 
plague  subsided  and  he  was  called  to 
Green  Bay,  Wis.,  there  was  a  universal 
grief  at  his  departure. 

At  Green  Bay,  Father  Haetscher  lab- 
ored  with   Father   Saenderl   among   the 


342 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


French  and  other  settlers  and  among  the 
neighboring  Indians.  In  the  spring  of 
1834  he  was  sent  to  Mackinac  Island, 
and  in  the  month  of  July,  at  the  instance 
of  his  Ordinary,  settled  at  the  Sault, 
from  where  he  extended  his  missionary 
activity  over  the  entire  district. 

At  Sault  Ste.  Marie  Father  Haetscher 
built  a  small  chapel  near  the  shore  on 
what  was  regarded  the  Catholic  Mis- 
sion claim,  being  near  the  old-ceme- 
tery from  olden  Jesuit  times.  This 
church  was  first  wrecked  inside  ami 
when  the  good  priest  repaired  the 
damage  as  well  as  he  could  it  was 
set  on  fire.  Undaunted  by  these  ad- 
versities, he  remained  at  the  Sault 
until  1836,  when  he  left  for  Ohio 
with  the  expectation  of  establishing 
a  firm  foundation  of  the  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Most  Holy  Redeemer ;  he 
labored  a  few  years  longer  in  Green 
Bay  and  then  returned  to  Europe. 

Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Haetscher 
was  born  in  Vienna,  Austria,  De- 
cember 1,  1784,  son  of  a  dairy-man. 
As  a  reckless  youth  having  caused 
endless  grief  and  sorrow  to  his  pious 
mother,  he  happened,  one  day,  to 
enter  the  church  where  the  Blessed 
Clement  Maria  Hoffbauer  was  preach- 
ing. The  subject  of  his  discourse  was 
the  unhappiness  of  a  bad  conscience. 
Francis  was  deeply  moved  by  grace,  and 
as  a  sorrowful  penitent  appealed  to  the 
saintly  preacher  to  hear  his  confession. 
The  result  was  that  the  reckless  youth 
became  not  only  a  good  Christian  but  a 
devoted  disciple  of  his  spiritual  director. 
In  1 814  be  was  invested  by  Father  Hoff- 
bauer as  a  novice  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Most  Holy  Redeemer.      During  his 


novitiate  he  was  sent  with  other  members 
to  Bucharest  in  Walachia.  There  he 
made  his  religious  profession  December 
5,  181 5,  and  was  ordained  priest,  Jan- 
uary 23,  1816.  After  having  labored 
about  six  years  in  that  field  he  returned 
to  Austria  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
missionary  until  1832,  when  he  was  sent 
to  the  New  World. 


REV.    ANDREW   D.    T.   PIRET. 


Father  Haetscher  died  at  Leoben,  Aus- 
tria, January  3.  1863. 
REV.    SIMON    SAEXDERL,   C.SS.R. 

Father  Simon  Saenderl  was  to  our 
knowledge  never  permanently  located 
within  the  borders  of  our  diocese,  but  did 
made  several  visits  to  Mackinac  Island, 
and  officiated  there  whenever  his  way  led 
him  to  or  from  Detroit.  There  is  one 
baptism  recorded  by  him  on  the  sixth  of 
September,   1833. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


343 


Father  Saenderl  was  born  in  Bavaria. 
September  30,  1800,  and  was  ordained 
June  2,  (according  to  other  records.  May 
28,)  1825,  and  made  his  religious  pro- 
fession as  Redemptorist.  July  18,  1829, 
He  came  to  America  with  Father  Haet- 
scher  and  was  detailed  to  the  Green  Bay 
missions  where  he  worked  like  a  true 
apostle  amidst  privations  and  difficulties 
so  inseparably  common  to  the  pioneer 
missionaries.  He  had  mastered  the  dif- 
ferent Indian  dialects  so  well  that  he  could 
speak  them  as  well  as  the  natives  them- 


a  solid  establishment  in  these  northern 
o  mntries  they  abandoned  the  Indian  mis- 
sion, and  were  on  the  point  of  being  re- 
called to  Europe,  but  Providence  directed 
their  activity  among  other  scattered  set- 
tlers. Father  Saenderl  labored  for  some 
years  in  Pittsburg  and  Rochester. 

He  was  a  man  of  retired  habits,  full  of 
piety,  and,  especially  during  his  mission- 
ary career  in  the  Northwest,  his  soul  was 
longing  for  a  quiet  repose  in  God.  Thus 
it  came  to  pass  that  he  separated  himself 
from  the  Congregation  of  the  Most  Holy 


FATHER     I'IRET  S        LA     KF.RMF.       AT     LES     CHENEAUX 
ISLANDS. 


selves,  and  for  this  reason  was  much  be- 
loved by  those  children  of  the  forest  and 
his  success  amongst  them  was  great. 
There  are  still  existing  in  the  Redemp- 
torist archives  at  Ilchester,  Maryland, 
small  remnants  of  his  sermons  written  in 
one  of  the  Indian  languages.  The  pen- 
manship of  this  relic  bears  testimony  of 
the  care  with  which  he  was  wont  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  his  apostolic  work  of 
preaching. 

As  the  Redemptorists  could  not  obtain 


Redeemer  and  joined  the  stricter  order  of 
La  Trappe.  He  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age, 
and  died,  like  a  saint,  February  22,  1879, 
at  the  Abbey  of  Gethsemany  in  Kentucky. 
His  abbot,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Father  Benedict 
writes  of  his  death  as  follows : 

"He  died  a  most  happy  death  after 
many  years  of  austere  penance.  He  did 
more  than  was  required  of  him  by  the 
Rule,  and  for  many  years  he  had  given 
up  all  exterior  communications.    He  lived 


344 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


only  for  God  and  God  alone  knows  what 
are  his  merits."4 

REV.  ANDREW  D.  J.  PIRET. 

He  was  one  of  the  only  two  priests 
laboring  within  the  territory  of  Upper 
Michigan  when  it  was  made  a  Vicariate 
Apostolic,  and  Baraga  became  its  first 
Bishop.  A  native  of  Belgium  he  came  as 
a  secular  priest  to  the  Diocese  of  Detroit 
in  1846,  anil  received  his  first  appoint- 
ment to  the  historic  Island  of  Mackinac. 
His  first  baptismal  entry  at  that  place  is 
on  the  30th  of  August,  1846.  Many 
long  years  of  service  followed.  Despite 
the  many  ups  and  downs  in  the  early  mis- 
sionary life,  he  continued  in  the  pasto- 
rate of  the  dual  parish,  St.  Ignace — 
Mackinac,  with  but  short  intervals,  for 
over  twenty  years.  So  attached  he  be- 
came to  the  romantic  regi>  >n  that  he  was 
determined  to  live  out  his  days  there. 
With  his  small  savings  he  acquired  a 
farm  on  Les  Cheneaux  Islands  and  man- 
aged to  build  up  a  home,  widely  known 
by  the  name  "La  Ferme."  This  home 
very  much  resembled  a  European  castle 
but  was  nothing  more  than  a  modest 
house  with  an  adjoining  chapel.  A  fire 
destroyed  the  buildings,  and  in  1868, 
when  Father  Piret  retired  from  active 
work,  he  moved  to  Cheboygan,  Michi- 
gan, where  he  died  August  22,  1875, 
aged  seventy-three  years. 
REV.     FRANCIS    XAVIER    PIERZ. 

Among  the  foremost  of  the  Indian 
missionaries  of  North  America  may  de- 
servedly be  counted  Father  Pierz  be- 
cause his  merits  for  the  conversion  and 
civilization  of  the  red  races  are  exceed- 


'  For  notes  and  data  of  Fathers  Haetscher 
and  Saenderl  we  are  deeply  indebted  to  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Wuest,  C.  SS.  R.,  Ilchester  College,  II- 
chester,  Md.  The  author. 


ingly  great,  his  labors  extending  over 
thirty  years,  and  we  are  unable  to  find  a 
peer  to  him  in  the  annals  of  the  Indian 
missionaries,  if  we  consider  the  fact  that 
at  the  age  of  fifty  years,  when  most  men 
are  looking  forward  either  to  a  peaceful 
spending  of  the  remainder  of  their  days, 
or  willing  to  live  out  their  day  amidst 
the  environment  which  they  have  created 
in  their  youth,  Pierz  was  just  commenc- 
ing, so  to  speak,  a  new  life, — at  least  the 
more  eventful  second  half  of  his  life-  It 
seems  as  though  this  great  priest  had  to 
live,  two  lives,  that  of  an  average  parish 
priest  in  the  old  country,  and  that  of  an 
Indian  missionary  at  an  age  when  most 
men  would  have  sought  quiet  and  rest. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  book  to  record 
the  labors  of  all  those  who  have  spent 
their  energies  within  the  border  of  this 
diocese.  Hence  Father  Pierz  rightfully 
belongs  to  us  although  he  carried  his 
work  in  other  fields.  Would  to  God, 
that  we  could  do  him  justice  in  our  at- 
tempt to  portray  his  personality,  char- 
acter, zeal,  and  his  merits. 

Rev.  Francis  Pierz  ( Slovenian  Pirec) 
was  born  in  the  village  of  Godic  belong- 
ing to  the  parish  of  Mekine,  near  Kam- 
nik,  Carniolia,  Austria,-  on  the  20th  day 
of  November.  1785.  His  early  school- 
ing was  commenced  in  Kamnik  and  he 
received  his  classical  education  in  Lai- 
bach.  After  the  usual  course  of  theol- 
ogy in  the  diocesan  seminary,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-eight,  he  was  ordained  by 
Bishop  Kautschitz  in  the  year  1813  and 
assigned  to  Kranjska  Gora  as  assistant 
priest,  where  he  remained  seven  years, 
becoming  at  the  end  of  that  period,  par- 
ish priest  at  Pec,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
bis  native  place.     The  country  was  still 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


345 


suffering  from  the  effects  of  war,  the 
French  occupation  of  1810,  poverty  be- 
ing rampant  among  the  farming  popu- 
lation on  account  of  the  devastation  of 
their  fields.  Father  Pierz  observing  that 
his  parishioners,  exerting  themselves  to 
restore  their  fields  to  productiveness,  en- 
tirely neglected  the  orchard,  at  once  set 
an  example  by  planting  a  large  number 
of  fruit  trees  not  neglecting,  at  the  same 
time,  to  instruct  his  parishioners  in  the 
usefulness  of  raising  fruit.  The  book 
"Kranjski  Vertnar,"  which  he  wrote  on 
the  subject  was  published  by  the  Carnio- 
lian  Agricultural  Society  in  1830,  and  is 
to  this  day  the  best  'text  book'  for  the 
Carniolian  fruit  grower.  In  the  fall  of 
1904,  at  the  International  Horticultural 
Exposition  of  Duesseldorf,  Germany, 
fruit  grown  in  Carniolia  received  more 
than  passing  recognition,  and  we  may 
say  that  it  is  in  no  small  degree  due  to  the 
teachings  of  Father  Pierz. 

From  Pec  Father  Pierz  was  trans- 
ferred to  Podbrezje  in  the  same  year  that 
Father  Baraga  left  for  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indian  Missions.  His  departure 
was  so  widely  written  about  and  his  cas- 
ual letters  to  the  Leopoldine  Society, 
friends  and  his  sisters,  given  such  circula- 
tion that  his  name  and  his  apostolic  lab- 
ors among  the  Indians  were  equally 
known  to  squire  or  peasant  throughout 
the  Empire  and  more  so  in  his  native 
province.  The  warm  appeals  for  mis- 
sionaries awoke  in  many  a  priest's  heart 
a  desire  to  follow  his  example;  amongst 
them  was  also  Father  Pierz.  He  had 
crossed  the  first  half  of  a  century  but  this 
did  not  deter  him.  He  resigned  his 
charge,  sold  or  gave  away  his  few  effects, 
and  on  the  16th  of  June,  1835,  was  on  his 


way  to  Vienna  where  the  Leopoldine  So- 
ciety contributed  towards  his  traveling 
expenses.  The  journey  he  described  in 
a  Slovenian  poem  of  seventy-six  stanzas. 
His  coming  was  beforehand  an- 
nounced to  Bishop  Rese  by  Father  Ba- 
raga with  the  request,  that,  as  long  as 
Father  Pierz  desired  to  go  to  the  Indian 


REV.  FRANCIS  PIERZ. 


missions,  he  be  assigned  to  him  as  assis- 
tant. The  request  was  more  than  agree- 
able to  the  bishop  and  upon  the  arrival  of 
Father  Pierz,  September  18th,  he  took, 
without  delay,  a  boat  for  the  Sault  with 
the  expectation  of  finding  some  connect- 
ing line  for  La  Point,  Wis.,  but  upon 
reaching  the  Sault  he  learned,  to  his 
dismay,  that  on  account  of  the  advanced 
season  there  would  be  no  other  boat  go- 


346 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


ing  there.  The  possibility  of  such  an 
event  being  anticipated  by  the  experienc- 
ed bishop,  Father  Pierz  was  instructed 
to  make  his  way  to  Mackinac,  by  boat, 
and  Father  Bonduel  would  take  care  of 
his  transportation  to  the  La  Croix  mis- 
sion, where  Father  Pierz  was  ordered  to 
spend  the  winter  in  case  he  missed  a  boat 
for  Lake  Superior.  Such  happened  to 
be  the  case.  "Leaving  my  native  land, 
Carniolia  (he  writes)  on  the  16th  of  June, 
1835,  I  arrived,  despite  many  dangers 
and  much  suffering,  well  preserved  and 
happy,  in  Detroit  on  the  18th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  was  cordially  received  by  Bishop 
Rese  who  immediately  dispatched  me  to 
Lake  Superior  that  I  might  associate  my- 
self to  my  countryman.  Rev.  Baraga,  in 
order  to  work  for  the  conversion  of  sav- 
ages in  the  uppermost  section  of  this  dio- 
cese. On  account  of  the  fast  advancing 
winter  no  boats  were  plying  on  Lake  Su- 
perior and  I  was  obliged  to  return,  for 
the  winter,  to  La  Croix,  a  sub-mission  of 
Arbre  Croche,  where  I  am.  to  my  great 
happiness,  exercising  the  sacred  ministry 
for  the  last  five  months."  5 

His  presence  in  La  Croix  was  purely 
accidental,  but  Father  Pierz  devoted  him- 
self unreservedly  to  the  work,  although 
no  hope  was  held  out  to  him  that  he 
would  remain  in  the  mission.  Ignorant 
of  the  Indian  language,  he  preached  in 
French,  which  besides  German,  Slove- 
nian, Italian  and  some  English,  he  spoke 
fluently,  and  had  it  by  an  interpreter 
translated  into  vernacular  Indian.  In  the 
spring  of  1836,  instead  of  being  allowed 
to  continue  his  intended  journey  Bishop 
Rese,  edified  by  his  success,  confided  La 


Croix  entirely  to  his  charge.  "However, 
on  account  of  a  heavy  frost  which  des- 
troyed early  in  August,  the  corn  crops, 
the  poor  Indians,  for  want  of  food,  have 
scattered  far  out  through  the  woods,  to 
eke  out  a  living  by  chase  during  the  win- 
ter, and  for  the  time  being  I  removed  to 
Sault   Ste.    Marie,   it   being,   for  lack  of 


REV.    JOS.    NIEBLING. 

priests,  since  last  spring  without  a  mis- 
sionary."6 

Father  Pierz  bewails  the  missionary 
poverty.  "If  the  Catholic  missionary, 
(says  he)  possessed  necessary  means  they 
would  soon  spread  the  light  of  faith  in- 
to all  Indian  countries,  but  this  want  is 


E  Letter  to  Leop.  Soc.  La  Croix,  May  1,  1836,  °  Letter  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Nov.  15.   1836.  An- 

Annals  X.  rials  XI. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


347 


always  a  serious  obstacle  in  our  way. 
This  involuntary  poverty  makes  us  per- 
sonally so  much  the  happier,  because  we 
become  accustomed  to  privation,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  unhappy  Indians  we 
would  often  crave  after  riches  in  order  to 
succor  them.  I  frankly  admit  that  the 
news  of  the  loss  of  all  my  personal  effects 
which  I  had  taken  from  Europe,  I  re- 
ceived with  perfect  indifference.  True, 
it  has  been  a  terrible  visitation  for  me 
that  all  my  useful  books,  clothes.  Mass- 
utensils  and  missionary  paraphernalia, 
have  burnt  in  the  New  York  fire,  but  I 
have  reconciled  myself  to  the  affliction 
although  many  times  tears  come  to  my 
eves  when  I  say  Mass  in  a  log-church,  or 
a  bark-chapel,  whereas  I  was  accustomed 
to  celebrate  in  large,  beautiful  churches. 
A  common  table,  covered  with  a  linen 
napkin,  is  my  altar — and  I  feel  the  bitter- 
ness in  my  heart  when  I  must  accede  to 
the  altar  in  worn  and  ragged  vestments, 
and  offer  the  sacrifice  from  a  chalice  of 
brass.  For  all  of  this,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  a  great  recompense  to  me  that  I,  almost 
daily,  empty  the  brass  ciborium  among 
my  poor,  blanket-garmented  Indians."' 
Father  Pirez  arrived  in  the  fall 
(  1S36)  in  the  Sault  and  was  received 
cordially  by  all,  especially  the  Christian 
Indians,  and  the  Canadian  French,  who 
constituted  the  main  population,  but  to 
his  great  disappointment  he  found  them 
to  be  only  nominal  Catholics,  as  they 
would  not  go  to  church  nor  frequent  the 
Sacraments.  His  discouragement  was  so 
great,  that  if  the  winter  had  not  closed 
the  exits,  he  would  have,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, shaken  the  dust  off  his  feet  and 
departed.  ,   Compelled  to  remain  he  also 


resolved  to  make  the  best  of  the  situa- 
tion. He  commenced  the  work  with  the 
children  who  eagerly  crowded  around 
his  amiable  figure,  taught  them  not  only 
prayers  and  catechism,  but  also  reading 
and  writing,  and  other  elementary 
branches  in  as  much  as  circumstances 
would  permit.  This  won  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  In  the  summer  of  1837  he 
built  a  new  church  and  made  two  visits 


Ibidem. 


REV.     JAMES    W.    KELLY.       BORN    AT    HUDSON,    N.    Y., 
M  USCH     10.    l8S2.      ORDAINED   BY    BISHOP   MRAK, 
FEBRUARY    2?,    l8/7.      DIED   AT    HOUGHTON,   JULY 
12,    l886.      BURIED    IN    NEGAUNEE. 

to  the  Indians,  "the  first  one  in  the  spring, 
to  the  St.  Joseph's,  was  without  much 
avail,  for  while  I  was  instructing  some 
fifty  savages  for  baptism  a  cool  minded 
white  pagan  allured  them  to  his  ship, 
keeping  them  away  from  the  island  by 
means  of  intoxicants,  until  I  left,  bap- 
tizing only  three  persons — a  sufficient  re- 


348 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


pay  indeed,  for  my  traveling  expenses  of 
some  thirty-five  dollars.  The  women  and 
children  among  the  savages  are  not  al- 
lowed to  do  anything  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  men. 

"The  deceived  savages  soon  perceived 
the  trickery  of  their  decoyer  who  had  on 
previous  occasions,  by  the  same  means, 
cheated  them  at  trading  but  could  not  do 
that  with  the  Christians,  because  intoxi- 
cants were  forbidden  them ;  therefore 
many  of  them,  few  at  a  time,  came  to 
me  repentant,  to  the  Sault  and  were  in- 
structed and  baptized. 

"My  second  excursion  was  to  Kitch- 
imitigong  and  was  more  successful.  The 
chief  of  that  tribe,  a  venerable  old  man 
of  seventy,  came  to  the  Sault  assisting  at 
our  Sunday  services,  the  singing  and  the 
instruction  pleased  him  so  much  that  he 
decided  to  become  a  Christian  and  re- 
quested me  to  visit  their  village  and  to 
instruct  him  and  his  subjects  in  the 
Christian  faith.  This  I  did  as  soon  as  I 
was  able  to  leave  home,  in  the  fall. 

"The  1 6th  day  of  October  was  for  me 
the  most  consoling  day  of  my  life  and  the 
happiest  for  these  poor  savages.  With 
the  sun-rise  I  commenced  the  celebration 
with  a  solemn  Mass  followed  by  an  ex- 
planation of  the  necessity  of  Baptism  and 
its  salutary  effects.  With  my  permission, 
the  chief  replied,  in  a  lengthy,  not  un- 
tasty  speech,  gratefully  spiced  with  grati- 
tude to  me  and  an  earnest  deprecation  to 
his  subjects  to  receive  Christianity.  In 
conclusion  all  answered:  Apengy,  which 
means  'Amen'  and  knelt  down  to  receive 
the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  which  I  con- 
ferred upon  them  and  then  married,  all 
those  who  have  been  living  in  matrimony, 
after  the  Christian  fashion. 


"The  religious  ceremony  was  fol- 
lowed, towards  evening,  by  a  bountiful 
repast,  which  was  appreciated  because 
we  were  all  still  fasting.  This  was  the 
first  opportunity  I  had  the  honor  to  pre- 
side at  an  Indian  banquet.  There  was 
no  table,  no  chairs,  no  wine,  no  soup,  no 
spoons,  and  no  particular  etiquette  to  fol- 


REV.   JOS.   E.    MARTEL,   WAS  LOANED  FROM    THE   ARCH- 
DIOCESE OF  QUEBEC.      DIED  PASTOR  OF  ST.   ANNE'S 
CONGREGATION,    ESCANABA,    MARCH    20TH,    1893. 


low.  On  the  ground  were  spread  out  in- 
geniously woven  mats,  upon  them  were 
served  in  courses,  on  large  wooden  plates, 
the  choicest  of  fish,  game,  fowl  and 
rounded  upon  with  two  quarters  of  bear. 
The  natives  sat  on  the  mat  while  the 
chief  and  I  assumed  American  manners. 
We  had  each  a  chair,  a    plate  on    our 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


349 


knees,  a  fork  and  a  knife.    The  clear  lake 
water  replaced  the  wine  list."'s 

In  June.  1838,  Father  Pierz  establish- 
ed the  missions  at  Michipicoten  and  Ok- 
wanokisinong,  and  after  a  short  stay  in 
the  Sault  departed  on  July  1st  for  La 
Pointe  to  hold  a  consultation  with  Father 
Baraga  who  had  just  been  appointed  by 
Bishop  Rese.  Vicar  General  for  the  In- 


REV.     H.     J.    ROUSSEAU     WAS    ORDAINED    FOR    THE 
DIOCESE.       DIED    PASTOR    OF    ST.    ANNE'S    CON- 
GREGATION,   MENOMINEE,     MICH.,     NOVEMBER 
19,     1891,     AND     IS     BURIED     AT     BOURBONAIS 
GROVE,    ILL. 

dian  Missions.  It  was  the  first  meeting 
of  the  two  missionaries  in  America.  The 
fall  and  winter  Pierz  spent  in  Grand  Por- 
tage, and  from  there  established  a  mis- 
sion at  Fort  Williams,  Canada.  In  the 
spring  of  1839  he  set  out  in  a  sail  boat, 
accompanied  by  five  Indians,  to  visit  all 

8  Letter.  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Dec.  15,  1837.   Leo- 
pold.   Berichte  XII. 


his  former  missions.  From  Fort  Wil- 
liams they  sailed  along  the  North  shore 
to  Michipicoten  and  the  Sault. 

A  little  incident  may  here  be  in  place 
Father  Pierz  writes :  "After  a  three 
days'  voyage  a  storm  arose  compelling  us 
to  seek  shelter  in  a  bay,  the  barking  of 
dogs  betrayed  that  we  were  near  human 
habitation.  As  we  were  deliberating 
what  to  do,  a  young  woman  appeared 
and  as  she  noticed  that  there  was  a  Black 
Robe  among  the  unexpected  visitors  she 
joyfully  passed  the  word  'mekate-ok- 
wanaie'  (priest)  to  those  in  the  hut. 
This  relieved  my  anxiety,  for  a  dozen  sav- 
ages came  to  the  shore  and  invited  us  by 
friendly  gestures  to  come  to  them.  In 
the  young  woman  I  recognized  a  Chris- 
tian, named  Catherine,  whom  I  had,  in 
the  fall,  baptized  in  Fort  Williams  and  at 
the  same  time  married  her  to  a  young 
neophyte  of  her  own  race.  Last  winter 
he  froze  to  death  on  the  ice  and  she  re- 
turned to  her  parents  to  whom  she 
brought  her  faith.  She  imparted  to  them, 
and  her  brothers  and  sisters  as  much  re 
ligious  instruction  as  she  herself  knew, 
and  they  all  wished  to  be  baptized  by  a 
priest,  who,  unfortunately,  was  over  two 
hundred  miles  away,  hence  they  called 
me  most  welcome.  Their  house  being 
small,  I  ordered  my  tent  put  up  and  in- 
vited all  who  would  learn  to  know  God. 
to  attend  the  instruction.  They  all  came 
but  one  who  declared  that  he  could  not 
accept  my  religion  because  it  forbade  him 
to  have  more  than  one  wife.  He  had 
three  sisters  for  his  wives  and  was  known 
to  have  killed  four  men. 

"This  declaration  considerably  damp- 
ened my  ardor  but  at  the  sight  of  the  lit- 
tle band  of  savages  asking  for  baptism, 


350 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


my  spirits  became  bouyant  again.  The 
father  of  the  Christian  widow  brought 
his  other  four  children  into  my  tent,  there 
kneeling  before  a  crucifix  they  recited  all 
the  prayers  they  knew.  I  kept  up  the  in- 
struction for  two  days  more  and  christ- 
ened all  those  who  knew  the  prayers;  a 
couple  of  these  catechumens  I  promised 
to  baptize  on  my  way  back. — This  place 
was  called  Kaochabaminanikak."9 

In  the  Sault  Father  Pierz  did  not  find 
a  successor ;  he  only  stayed  long  enough 
for  the  people  to  comply  with  their  Eas- 
ter duty  and  moved  on  to  Kitchimiti- 
gong,  and  from  there  to  La  Croix  with 
the  intention  of  returning  to  his  Grand 
Portage  mission  before  the  close  of  navi- 
gation. But  this  was  not  to  be;  before 
he  was  ready  to  return  he  received  word 
from  Father  Baraga  to  remain  in  Arbre 
Croche. 

In  the  spring  of  1842  he  went  to  his 
northern  Lake  Superior  missions  but  was 
again  ordered,  very  much  against  his 
own  will,  to  return  in  the  fall  to  Arbre 
Croche.  The  following  extract  from  his 
letter  of  October  2,  1843,  gives  us  an 
idea  of  his  activity.  "My  usually  firm 
health  keeps  me  always  active  but  in  spite 
of  it,  the  work  to  be  done  is  in  excess  of 
my  strength.  In  summer  I  spend  most 
of  my  time  in  going  from  station  to  sta- 
tion and  in  winter  I  teach  school  in  the 
home  mission.  In  my  spare  time  I  write 
because  we  have  in  this  beautiful  lan- 
guage only  two  books  by  Father  Baraga 
and  I  have  contributed  to  this  poor  In- 
dian literature  the  'Life  of  Jesus  Christ' 
and  a  small  'Catechism' ;  now  I  have  in 
preparation  a  large  Catechism  and  sev- 


'  Currant-Point.   Letter,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  July 
2,  1839.    L.  Ber.  XIII. 


enty  Indian  sermons  on  the  gospels  for 
Sunday  and  Holydays  of  the  year,  where 
they  will  be  printed  I  do  not  know. 

"I  am  also  wont  to  give  some  atten- 
tion to  gardening  and  agriculture,  be- 
cause I  not  only  have  to  teach  my  Indians 
religion  but  also  a  sensible  way  of  living, 
in  order  to  promote  their  temporal  as  well 
as  their  spiritual  welfare.  Often  I  must 
personally  show  them  how  to  use  a  sickle, 
scythe,  plow  or  a  flail,  civilizing  them 
more  and  more.  In  this  I  have  been  so 
successful  that  I  have  undertaken  to  ask 
the  government  for  their  emancipation." 

Amidst  of  his  missionary  occupations 
Pierz  did  not  forget  his  old  country 
friends.  Although  not  being  able  to  in- 
vestigate the  American  method  of  farm- 
ing, he  learned  many  things  from  agri- 
cultural papers  worthy  of  imitation. 
This  he  did  not  hesitate  to  describe  and 
recommend  to  his  European  farmers. 
For  the  kindly  interest  shown  the  Agri- 
cultural Society,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber in  the  old  country,  showed  its  appre- 
ciation by  sending  him  a  silver  medal. 
(1842.)   ' 

During  his  stay  in  Pigeon  River,  near 
Grand  Portage,  Father  Pierz  accomplish- 
ed much  good.  As  soon  as  he  arrived 
there  he  commenced  to  build  the  longed- 
for  church.  But  as  he  was  anxious  to  ad- 
vance his  beloved  Indians  in  temporals, 
he  had  another  surprise  in  store  for  them. 
"I  bought  them  a  large  fishing  net  which 
they  cast  every  evening  twice,  at  the 
outlet  of  the  river  and  caught  enough 
fish  so  they  could  eat  as  much  as  they 
would.  Then  I  prepared  them  for  a  lit- 
tle farming;  we  stopped  building  our 
church  for  one  month.  The  islands  in 
the   river    contained    good   soil  and   we 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


351 


planted  on  them  potatoes,  corn,  peas, 
beans  and  other  garden  truck,  the  seed  of 
which  I  received  from  Carniolia.  Two 
cows,  four  pigs  and  twelve  chickens  made 
our  initial  for  raising  cattle.  From  my 
orchard  (at  Arbre  Croche)  I  brought 
man)'  small  fruit  trees  and  some  different 
kinds  of  grain  which  I  sowed  in  the  new 
field.  Then  we  continued  the  work  on 
our  church ;  with  the  help  of  a  hired 
carpenter  we  finished  the  school  and  sev- 
eral houses,  but  were  unable  to  complete 
the  church  before  fall.  Amidst  of  all 
these  busy  days  I  never  omitted  instruc- 
tions ;  twice  a  day,  mornings  and  even- 
ings, I  catechized  the  adults  in  the  tem- 
porary chapel  and  some  sixty  children  in 
the  school.  The  summer  passed  quickly 
and  in  the  fall  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  bishop  commanding  me  to  return  to 
Arbre  Croche.  Reluctantly  I  departed 
from  my  newly  befriended  Indians.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  October  I  pushed  out  in 
my  boat  over  the  same  route  I  had  come, 
and  in  fifty-three  days,  December  8, 
1842,  I  arrived  again  in  Arbre  Cro- 
che."10 

The  pleasure  of  completing  the  work 
so  auspiciously  begun  on  the  Pigeon 
River  was  not  given  him  until  the  follow- 
ing spring  when  he  again,  and  after  that 
annually,  made  the  extensive  trip  visiting 
all  his  Lake  Superior  missions,  including 
that  of  the  Sault.  The  steady  growth, 
by  conversion  and  immigration,  of  the 
Indian  community  at  Arbre  Croche  and 
dependent  missions  demanded  a  contin- 
ual presence  of  the  missionary;  the 
bishop  could  not  consent  to  his  absence. 
In  October,   1845,  he  even  sent  him  an 


assistant  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Ignatius 
Mrak  and  two  years  later  found  it  neces- 
sary for  the  sake  of  easier  access  to  the 
stations,  to  divide  the  Congregation. 
Touching  upon  this  Fr.  Pierz  writes, 
"God  visibly  blessed  my  labors  for  from 
the  day  of  my  arrival  here,  September  30, 
1839,  to  this  day,  July  15,  1847,  the  num- 
ber of  the  faithful  has  been  increased  by 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-six  souls,  mostly 


> 

% 

— . 

& 

- 

«*»*/ 

k 

/ 

10  Letter,  March   2,   1843.     Franc  Pierc  by  P. 
Florentin   Hrovat. 


REV.     ANACLETUS    O.     PELISSON,    DIED    PASTOR    OF    ST. 

ANNE'S      CONGREGATION,      MENOMINEE,      MICH., 

MAY    28,    1893,    AND   IS   BURIED    THERE. 

from  the  ranks  of  pagans,  there  being 
now  a  total  of  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  Catholics  here; — to 
do  justice  to  this  mission  as  well  as  ten 
others,  a  considerable  distance  apart,  is 
really  more,  than  one  missionary  can  do, 
and  for  this  reason  it  was  imperative  to 
divide  the  mission  which  has  also  been 
done  by  Bishop  Lefevre  on  the  10th  of 
this  month.  To  me  he  gave  jurisdiction 
over    Arbre    Croche,   Cheboygan,   Aga- 


352 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


katchiving,  Grand  Traverse  and  inter- 
mediate points  on  the  shore  down  to 
Machgigong,  on  the  whole  some  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-two 
souls,  mostly  excellent  Catholics,  La- 
croix,  Middletown,  Castor  Island  and 
Manestie,  six  hundred  souls  in  all,  he  ex- 
tended to  Father  Ignatius  Mrak."11 

In  1846  small-pox  broke  out  in  four 
villages.  Father  Pierz  immediately  sent 
for  the  physician  on  Mackinac  Island, 
who  on  account  of  illness  could  not  un- 
dertake the  long  journey,  but  sent  the 
necessary  virus  to  the  priest  with  the  in- 
struction to  vaccinate  the  inhabitants  of 
the  infected  place.  Father  Pierz  although 
sixty  years  old  delivered  himself  credit- 
ably of  his  task  by  going  from  village 
to  village  and  house  to  house  vaccinating 
more  than  nine  hundred  persons.  In  his 
letter  to  the  Beopoldine  Society,  under 
date  of  December  28,  1846,  he  expresses 
his  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  vaccina- 
tion and  re-vaccination. 

In  the  Seventh  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore,  in  session  from  the  5th  to  the 
13th  of  May,  1849,  in  its  fourth  private 
session,  the  Bishops  requested  the  Apos- 
tolic See  to  erect  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota into  a  diocese  with  the  Episcopal  See 
at  St.  Paul.  The  Holy  Father,  Pius 
IX.,  acceding  to  their  wishes,  by  the  brief 
of  June  28,  1850,  established  the  diocese. 
Its  first  bishop,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Cretin, 
was  consecrated  Jan.  26,  185 1.  In  his 
extensive  diocese  he  found  only  seven 
churches  and  ten  priests  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  less  than  two  thousand  five 
hundred.  Indians,  Sioux  and  Otchip- 
pewas,   were  numerous,   the   latter   were 


11  Letter  Fr.  Pierz  to  Leop.  Soc.  dated  Arbre 
Croche,  July  15,  1847.     Annals  XXI. 


estimated,  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
at  seven  thousand.  There  is  no  doubt  in 
our  mind  that  from  the  knowledge 
Father  Pierz  had,  of  the  numerosity  of 
pagan  Indians  existing  in  different  lo- 
calities of  north-eastern  Minnesota,  from 
his  missionary  visit  to  Fort  Williams, 
Pigeon  River,  Fond  du  Lac  and  Grand 
Portage,  a  desire  for  their  conversion 
arose  in  his  heart.  In  Arbre  Croche  there 
were  no  pagans  any  longer  but  well  es- 
tablished parishes  and  so  long  as  those 
missions  which  he  loved  so  well  were 
now  cut  off  by  the  erection  of  a  new 
diocese,  his  heart  burned  with  zeal  to 
continue  the  work,  begun  so  many  years 
before. 

Bishop  Cretin,  in  great  need  of  priests 
and  in  particular  of  such  who  would 
labor  among  the  Indian  tribes,  extended 
a  hearty  welcome  to  the  venerable,  pio- 
neer missionary.  Tims  the  well-merited 
Father  Pierz  left  Michigan  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1852,  and  took  up  work  in  the 
diocese  of  St.  Paul  establishing  himself 
at  Crow  Wing. 

The  new  charges  he  found  in  a  more 
deplorable  state  than  any  other  savages 
he  had  heretofore  seen.  They  lived  in 
wigwams  of  bark  and  branches;  their 
clothing  was  as  scanty  as  even  the  savage 
code  of  morals  would  allow,  and  for  a 
living  they  entirely  depended  on  fishing 
and  hunting  which  giving  out  not  seldom 
caused  famine  and  death  amongst  them. 
The  beneficent  effect  of  Christianity  ac- 
companied by  industrial  reforms  which 
Father  Pierz  had  introduced  among  the 
Indians  on  Pigeon  River,  have  found 
their  way  to  these  unfortunates;  any 
black  robe  would  have  been  most  wel- 
come, but  more  so  Pierz  himself  whose 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


353 


name  and  fame  had  preceded  him.  How 
joyfully  they  set  to  felling  trees,  clearing 
the  site  and  building  the  first  church,  all 
under  the  direction  of  the  good  Father! 12 
After  this  material  predisposition  fol- 
lowed the  spiritual.  "Last  winter,"  he 
writes,  "I  laid  a  firm  foundation  to  the 
Indian  mission  in  Crow  Wing  by  giving 
daily  instruction.  In  the  spring  I  visited 
all  the  whites,  French,  Irish  and  German, 
scattered  along  the  east  shore  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, belonging  to  -  my  jurisdiction. 
With  the  beginning  of  June  I  went 
among  the  Indians  and  my  first  trip  was 
to  Mehi  Sagaigang,  (Mille  Lac),  two 
days'  journey,  southwest  from  Crow 
Wing.  We  made  it  almost  all  afoot, 
very  little  by  boat,  and  found  it  the  hard- 
est trip  in  all  my  life."  1:! 

These  hardships  were  not  in  vain  as 
he  met  with  usual  success  and  after 
three  weeks  catechizing,  he  left  a  small 
Christian  community  including  their 
chief. 

In  1857  writing  to  his  friend  Rev. 
Matthew  Kristan,  pastor  in  Yace,  Car- 
niolia,  he  sums  up  his  work :  "I  have 
completed  my  seventieth  year,  the  Lord 
has  preserved  me  well,  I  am  still  in  full 
vigor  and  enjoy  good  health.  In  three 
years  I  have  established  ten  missions, 
and  built  as  many  churches;  two  Indian, 
two  French  and  six  larger  ones  for  the 
Germans  in  a  most  beautiful  country  on 
the  Sauk  River,  and  these  I  have  turned 
over  to  the  Benedictine  Fathers;  the 
French  I  will  give  soon  to  a  French  mis- 


12  Fr.  Pierz  gives  a  graphic  description  of 
their  condition,  first  zeal,  the  building  of  the 
church,  his  own  contentedness,  etc.,  in  a  Sloven- 
ian Poem,  published  by  his  biographer,  P.  Flor- 
entin  Hrovat. 

13  Letter  to  Leopoldine  Society;  September  15, 
1853.     Annals. 


sionary,  while  I  shall  keep  the  Indian, 
and  if  God  grants  me  health,  devote  the 
remainder  of  the  last  decade  of  my  eighty 
years  to  their  conversion.  The  coming 
spring  I  shall  penetrate  farther  north, 
four  hundred  to  six  hundred  miles,  where 
I  expect  to  have  the  happiness  of  erecting 
new  missions  before  the  end  of  my  life 
comes.  The  other  day  I  received  a  letter 
from  Rev.  Lawrence  Lautizar,  my  coun- 


REV.   ALBERICO  VITALI,  J.U.D.      DIED  AT  REPUBLIC,  DEC. 
12,    1893,    AND    IS    BURIED    THERE. 

tryman,  offering  his  aid  and  co-operation 

for  the  conversion  of  Indians.  He  speaks 

Indian  well  and  will  be  a  solace  to  me  in 

my  old  days."  14 

Father  Lautizar  went  from  Michigan 

to   Minnesota    in   the   summer   of    1857. 

Who  could  have  been  happier  than  Fath- 

11  January  5,   1857.     Franc  Pierc  by  P.  Flor- 
entin  Hrovat. 


354 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


er  Pierz  when  this  young  priest,  a  model 
of    sacerdotal   life    and   missionary   self- 
sacrifice,  associated  himself  to  him!    The 
happiness  of  both  was  doubly  increased 
— but   ended   abruptly.      On   the   3rd  of 
December  1858  Father  Lautizar  froze  to 
death  on  the  Red  Lake  while  returning 
from  a  missionary  expedition.     An  ac- 
count of  this  sad  accident  is  given  below 
in  Father  Lautizar's  biographical  sketch. 
In  1862  Father  Pierz  wrote  to  Canon 
John  Novak  the  following  letter,  which 
throws  light  on  his  own  labors  during 
those  turbulent   days.      "During  the  la- 
mented year  of  1862  I  have  visited  my 
six  missions  only  once,  offering  the  peo- 
ple   an    opportunity     for    their    annual 
duties,  baptizing  their  children  and  giv- 
ing relief  to  many  of  the  sick  by  means  of 
my    homeopathic    drugs.      New    conver- 
sions were  out  of  question  because  the 
up-rising  of  some  Indian  tribes  against 
the  whites  gave  me  enough  to  do,  keep- 
ing it  from  spreading  among  my  own. 
The   newspapers   have   exaggerated   and 
twisted  the  truth  about  this  Indian  revolt 
so  much  the  world  over,  that  I  feel  im- 
pelled to  straighten  your  own  views  by 
giving  you  a  few  true  facts  about  this  In- 
dian ranting. 

"Greedy  traders  have  for  many  years 
unmercifully  cheated  our  Otchippwe 
Indians,  liquor  sellers  have  carried  on 
their  corruption,  and  dishonest  officials 
have  fleeced  them  unscrupulously,  so  that 
the  inevitable  poverty  has  reduced  our 
poor  Indians  to  the  extreme  ends.  Some 
four  hundred  Protestant  Indians,  from 
the  neighborhood  of  Gerl  and  Leech  Lake 
under  their  chief  Haleda,  armed  them- 
selves and  took  from  the  whites  clothing 
and   food,   driving   away   some   hundred 


head  of  cattle  at  the  same  time.  As  far 
as  I  know,  they  have  committed  no  mur- 
ders but  spread  terror  among  the  white 
settlers.  For  this  reason  the  military 
forces  and  the  settlers  rose  in  arms  to  in- 
flict annihilation  upon  these  savage  re- 
volters,  or  to  drive  them  out  of  the  State 
of  Minnesota. 

"Our  good  hearted  president  has  sent 
a  commissioner  from  Washington  to  ex- 
tend to  these  deluded  people  peace  and 
amnesty,  but  the  savages  refused  to  listen" 
to  any  overtures  for  peace  but  plundered 
in   the   following   night   a   house   in   the 
vicinity  of  Crow  Wing,  planning  destruc- 
tion to  the  whole  town.     A  friendly  In- 
dian revealed  to  me  their  intention,  and  I 
set  out  at  once,  armed  with  a  good  quan- 
tity of  tobacco,  in  search  of  their  camp 
in  the  darkest  forest  about  a  mile  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Minnesota  River.     Two 
war-painted    horsemen    passed    me    half 
way;  soon  I  came  to  the  first  patrol  and 
they   asked   me   'Where   are   you   going, 
Father?'     T  must  speak  to  your  chief,'  I 
answered.     'This  is  not  possible,'  was  the 
reply,  'because  no  white  man  is  allowed 
to   see   him.'      They   showed   me   a    line 
drawn  across  the  wagon  road  which  no 
white    should    cross    under    penalty    of 
death.     T  am  not  afraid  to  die,'  I  said 
smilingly  and  set  my  foot  to  cross  the  line 
when  at  the  same  instant  four  stalwart 
fellows  lifted  me  bodily  and  carried  me 
some  ten  paces  ahead.     'Now  you  did  not 
walk  across  the  forbidden  line,  we  carried 
you,'  they  said  laughingly,  'you  may  live.' 
A  short  distance  ahead  I  was  shown 
by  the  second  patrol  another  mark  which 
they  assured  me  I  must  not  cross  at  the 
cost  of  my  life.     'If  this  is  the  case,'  I 
said,   'then  let  the  chiefs  come  to  me.' 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


355 


They  quickly  came.  I  greeted  them,  of- 
fering them  tobacco  as  a  mark  of  friend- 
ship, and  asked  them  what  all  this  meant. 
They  gave  no  reply  but  hung  their  heads. 
'Since  you  do  not  speak,  I  will.  Listen 
to  me!  Ye  know  well  that  the  Black- 
Robes  are  the  envoys  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
that  they  preach  to  all  nations  His  holy 
will  teaching  them  the  truth,  averting 
from  them  evil  and  inclining  them  to 
good. 

"Five  chiefs  with  all  their  warriors 
surrounded  me.  attentively  listening  to 
my  words.  Fully  half  an  hour  I  spoke  to 
them  in  their  own  tongue  explaining  how 
foolhardy  is  their  rebellion  against  the 
white  race,  how  great  a  crime  depreda- 
tion and  homicide  are  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  who  in  this  life  avenges 
them  with  terrible  afflictions  and  chas- 
tises them  in  eternity  with  everlasting 
punishment.  In  a  fatherly  way  I  pointed 
out  to  them  the  fatal,  unavoidable  out- 
come, describing  to  them  the  great  armies 
of  well  drilled  and  armed  soldiers.  Fin- 
ally, I  counselled  them  to  make  peace,  to 
go  to  Crow  Wing  that  there,  their  griev- 
ances would  be  righted. 

"  'E,  e,  Nose,'  Yes,  yes.  Father.,  was 
the  response  from  all  sides.  Head  chief 
Haleda  gave  me  his  hand  and  said, 
'Father,  we  shall  go  today  to  Crow  Wing 
and  make  peace.'  Other  chiefs  also  as- 
sented. 

"The  Indians  came  to  Crow  Wing  and 
in  two  days  upon  mutual  concessions, 
peace  was  reached.  The  savages  prom- 
ised to  accept  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion, begging  me  to  come  to  their  vil- 
lages to  establish  a  mission.  I  gladly 
promised  to  do  so.  as  soon  as  I  received 


help   of   some   priest   and   the   necessary 
means. 

"Thus  Providence  has  by  my  friendly 
speech  averted  the  much  dreaded  revolu- 
tion of  the  Chippewas.  I  must  add,  to 
my  own  satisfaction  and  pride,  thai  not 
one  Indian  from  my  six  missions  took 
part  in  this  revolt.  They  were  all  pagans 
and  drunkards  from  Protestant  missions 
c  if  this  section. 


REV.    JOSEI'H     HAAS.    DIED    IN    NEW    YORK    SEPT. 

8,   1898. 

"Although  the  Sioux  Indians  of  North- 
ern Minnesota  do  not  belong  to  my  mis- 
sionary circuit,  yet  I  feel  that  I  should 
mention  them  if  only  to  mitigate  the  sen- 
tence pronounced  abroad  upon  their  cruel 
savagery.  This  Indian  tribe  is  over  ten 
years  under  guidance  of  well  paid  Pro- 
testant missionaries,  (Dr.  Williamson 
and  Dr.  Riggs,  were  the  missionaries  of 
these  Sioux  at  the  expense  of  the  U.  S. 


356 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Government)15  but  without  the  least  ef- 
fect. From  the  same  causes  and  about 
the  same  time  as  before  mentioned,  they 
went  on  their  rampage.  They  waged  a 
war  of  annihilation  on  all  the  whites,  in 
my  places  they  pillaged  and  killed,  but 
made  their  savagery  felt  in  particular  in 
the  city  of  New  Ulm  on  the  Minnesota 
River,  where  they  killed  almost  all  the  in- 
habitants and  burned  the  city. 

"This  was  evidently  a  chastisement  of 
God,  for  the  most  of  them  were  apostates 
who  refused  to  hear  anything  of  religion 
or  priest.  'The  object  of  the  German 
Land  Company  is  to  procure  a  home  for 
every  German  laborer,  popish  priests  and 
lawyers  excepted,  in  some  healthful  and 
productive  district,  located  on  some  navi- 
gable river.'  16  They  built  their  houses 
.  on  Sunday  in  spite  of  the  precept  of  the 
church  and  last  year,  on  Corpus  Christi 
day,  these  shameless  atheists  conducted 
an  ox  ornamented  with  garlands,  around 
their  city,  honoring  him  by  music  and 
dance  at  four  different  places.  At  last 
they  roasted  him  as  if  in  sacrifice.  No 
wonder  then,  that  the  savage  Sioux  with 
their  unheard  of  cruelties  have  served  as 
a  chastisement  upon  New  Ulm  as  at  one 
time  pagan  Rome  chastised  and  destroy- 
ed Jerusalem.  May  this  example  incline 
the  heart  of  the  faithless  with  a  fear  of 
a  just  Judge. 

"The  intrepid  General  Silbley  imme- 
diately made  war  upon  the  Sioux  and  cap- 
tured a  large  number  of  them  together 
with  their  wives  and  children.  The  re- 
volters  were  picked  out,  imprisoned  in 
Fort  Ridgeley,  tried,  and  three  hundred 


(three  hundred  and  three,  Indians'  Re- 
venge) of  them  condemned  to  death, 
thirty-eight17  of  whom  were  executed  on 
the  26th  day  of  December  of  last  year. 
Father  Ravoux  had  converted  and  bap- 
tized thirty-three  of  them.  According  to 
the  principles  of  our  free  institutions 
every  one  of  the  condemned  was  at  lib- 
erty to  choose  the  religion  in  which  he 
wanted  to  die,  and  they  were  officially 
notified  of  the  fact.  The  Government  al- 
so offered  to  procure  the  spiritual  advis- 
ers of  their  choice.  Strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, thirty-six  out  of  the  thirty-nine  be- 
came Catholics,  though  they  had  always 
been  under  the  spiritual  guidance  of 
Protestant  ministers  who,  as  has  been 
said,  were  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment for  years  past  at  the  different  agen- 
cies. Their  Catholic  spiritual  adviser 
was  the  Rev.  Father  Ravoux,  who  is  at 
present  attached  to  the  Cathedral  at  St. 
Paul  as  Vicar-General  of  the  diocese.18 
The  remaining  are  still  awaiting  their 
fate.  The  other  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred who  are  confined  at  Fort  Snelling  I 
have  visited  in  company  of  Vicar  General 
Ravoux  and  have  appropriately  address- 
ed them.  On  this  occasion  mothers  of- 
fered their  little  ones  for  holy  Baptism 
and  we  christened  fourteen  of  them. 
Father  Ravoux  has,  however,  baptized 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  children 
and  sick  adults,  many  of  whom  have 
since  gone  to  their  Creator. 

"This  old  and  sickly  priest  told  me  that 
a  young  priest  who  would  stay  right  with 
these  savages  could  convert  all  these  pris- 
oners.    I  also  requested  General  Silbley 


16  The  Indians'  Revenge,  by  A.  Berghold. 
"New    Ulm    Pioneer,    March    11,    1859.      In- 
dians' Revenge  by  Berghold.  p.  9. 


17  Thirty  nine  according  to  Indians'  Revenge. 
"The  Indians'  Revenge  by  Rev.  Alex.  Berg- 
hold pg.  146. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


357 


in  St.  Paul  to  deal  kindly  with  them.  Be- 
fore the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop,  I  have  set  forth 
the  great  necessity  of  additional  mission- 
aries for  the  Chippewa  as  well  as  the 
Sioux  tribes.  But  whence  will  he  get 
them  since  he  lives  in  such  poverty  that 
he  can  scarcely  defray  the  expenditures 
of  his  house,  he  can  still  less  maintain  a 
seminary.  Twenty  priests,  in  his  diocese, 
give  services  at  one  hundred  and  eleven 
missionary  stations.  With  the  bishop's 
kind  blessing  I  returned  to  my  beloved 
Chippewas  where  more  work  awaited  me 
than  my  old  age  allows  me  to  perform. 
May  kind  Providence  send  good  priests 
together  with  some  temporal  means  into 
this  poor  diocese  of  St.  Paul !  Oh  how 
much  good  would  be  accomplished  for 
the  honor  of  God  and  the  salvation  of 
mankind." 

Father  Pierz'  pleadings  were  some- 
thing like  the  'voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness,'  he  thought  in  person  he 
could  effect  more.  Accordingly  without 
previous  notice  to  his  friends,  he  ap- 
peared in  January,  1864.  in  his  native 
Carniolia.  In  his  expectations  he  was  not 
disappointed.  Rev.  Joseph  Buh,  now 
Monsignor  and  Vicar  General  of  Duluth, 
was  the  first  whom  he  gained  for  the 
American  mission,  then  the  theologians, 
John  2uzek,  Ignatius  Tomazin,  James 
Trobec,  now  bishop  of  St.  Cloud,  from 
the  diocese  of  Laibach  and  Aloysius 
Plut,  John  Tomazevic,  James  Ph.  Er- 
lach  and  John  Velikanje  from  Goerz 
archdiocese.  Messrs.  Francis  Spath  and 
Frederick  Stern,  theologians,  accompa- 
nied Frederic  Xavier  Katzer,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  Milwaukee,  who  crossed 
the  Atlantic  on  the  Str.  Mercury  at  the 
same  time. 


During  his  absence,  Rev.  Anthony 
Gaes  (who  came  from  Munich  to  Mar- 
quette Diocese  in  1862  and  left  the  same 
year  for  Minnesota)  looked  after  his  mis- 
sions. Father  Buh  was  assigned  to  Win- 
nibigoshish  and  Rev.  Zuzek,  after  his  or- 
dination, Nov.  1,  1864,  was  appointed  as- 
sistant to  Father  Pierz  at  Crow  Wing. 
In  1865  three  more  received  ordination; 
on  February  12th  Father  Plut;  Septem- 
ber 8th,  Father  Trobec,  now  bishop  of  St. 
Cloud ;  November  5th,  Fr.  Tomazin.  Er- 
lach,  Katzer,  Spath  and  Stern  had  been 
detailed  to  Milwaukee.  Velikanje  turned 
out  to  be  a  school  teacher. 

Among  his  manifold  labors  for  the 
conversion  of  the  redskins  Father  Pierz 
had  allowed  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
his  ordination  to  pass  without  any  par- 
ticular celebration,  but  his  Bishop  kept  the 
event  in  mind.  In  summer  of  1865.  Bish- 
op Cretin  gathered  his  thirty  priests  to  a 
retreat,  and  after  it  commanded  Father 
Pierz  to  celebrate  his  golden  jubilee  of 
priesthood.  With  all  possible  splendor 
the  venerable  missionary  sang  a  solemn 
High  Mass  in  the  Cathedral,  and  re- 
ceived congratulations  from  the  bishop 
and  his  fellowr  priests.  After  the  dinner, 
which  the  Bishop  gave  in  his  honor, 
Father  Pierz  expressed  the  feelings  of  his 
joyful  heart  in  a  lengthy  Latin  speech. 
He  returned  to  his  missions  for  almost 
another  decade  of  years. 

At  last  his  strength  commenced  to  fail 
him.  "It  is  a  year,"  he  writes,  "since  my 
sight  is  giving  out,  that  I  cannot  read  pa- 
pers anymore.  In  my  eighty-seventh 
year  I  am  failing  fast :  two  years  a'go*I 
could  with  ease  yet  attend  twelve  mis- 
sions, preaching  in  French,  German  and 
Indian.     This  year  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 


358 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


has  invited  me  to  retire,  and  to  stay  with 
him,  or  at  least  to  take  a  small  German 
mission.  I  have  sustained  twice  a  slight 
stroke  of  apoplexy  but  warded  off  its 
fatal  issue  by  my  homeopathic  medicines; 
now,  however,  a  continual  noise  in  my 
head  tells  me  that  I  better  prepare  for 
the  journey  to  my  last  mission."  19 

Father  Pierz  decided  to  spend  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  in  his  own  native 
country.  He  would  have  returned  with 
Father  Cebul,  of  Marquette  diocese,  who 
in  the  fall  of  1872  was  making  a  visit  to 
his  home,  but  an  Indian  book  on  temper- 
ance was  not  quite  ready  for  print,  so  he 
put  off  his  departure  for  another  year. 

In  consideration  of  his  great  service  to 
the  Indian  mission.  Bishop  Cretin  com- 
missioned Father  Tomazin.  his  assistant, 
to  accompany  him  across  the  Atlantic. 
On  September  3,  1873,  he  bade  a  tearful 
farewell  to  his  so  well  loved  Indian  mis- 
sions, friends  and  America.  They  arrived 
in  Laibach  on  October  3rd.  Although  en- 
feebled in  body,  his  mind  was  as  active 
as  ever.  On  his  voyage  he  wrote  a  Slov- 
enian poem  in  which  he  extols  the  merits 
of  Bishop  Baraga. 

He  returned  to  his  native  land  penni- 
less, and  the  necessaries  of  life  might  have 
been  a  serious  question  to  him,  if  it  were 
not  fi  ir  the  fact  that  at  the  intercession  of 
the  ordinary  of  Laibach  the  Austrian 
government  extended  him  the  usual  pen- 
sion of  superannuated  parish  priests.  He 
first  took  his  residence  with  the  Francis- 
can Fathers  in  Kamnik,  near  his  native 
place,  but  already  the  following  year  he 
removed  to  Laibach  to  live  in  the  Cathe- 


19  Letter  January  20,   1872,  Franc   Pirc  by   P. 
Fl.  Hrovat. 


dral  presbytery  where  he  also  ended  his 
most  useful  life  on  Jaunary  22,  1880. 

His  funeral  was  conducted  with  great 
solemnity  by  the  Prince-Bishop,  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Chrysostom  Pogacar,  himself.  Be- 
sides the  numerous  clergy,  societies  and 
delegates  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
immense  masses  of  people  followed  the 
remains  of  the  great  servant  of  God  to  his 
last  resting  place. 

Canon  Dr.  Zupan  pronounced  the  fol- 
lowing eulogy  at  the  grave.  "  'Blessed 
are  the  dead,- who  die  in  the  Lord  for 
their  works  shall  follow  them.'  ( Apoc. 
XIV.  13.)  These  words  of  the  holy 
scripture  press  on  my  mind,  as  I  think  of 
this  venerable  priest  whom  we  have  en- 
deavored to  honor  by  accompanying  him 
to  his  grave.  My  God,  who  could  enum- 
erate his  labors  of  almost  forty  years 
among  the  Indians  in  America !  Who 
could  adequately  account  his  anxieties  for 
them,  his  fatigues,  journeyings,  instruct- 
ing and  preaching  in  German,  French, 
English  and  Indian.  How  often  did  he 
suffer  hunger  and  thirst,  cold  and  heat, 
only  to  gain  these  savages  for  the  holy 
faith — to  save  their  souls.  Who  could 
estimate  even  his  merits  teaching  the  In- 
dians the  first  lessons  of  farming.  In 
cities  and  villages,  in  palaces  and  wig- 
wams, on  American  plains  and  moun- 
tains, generation  after  generation  will 
tell  of  his  deeds  and  mure  than  we  know 
of  them  are  recorded  in  the  books  of 
eternity  into  which  he  has  preceded  us. 
The  deceased  one  has  been  the  crown 
and  glory  of  missionaries,  of  priesthood, 
of  our  diocese  and  our  land  Krain ! 

"To  our  consolation  and  more  so  to  his 
spiritual    children    in    America    are    the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


359 


words  of  the  learned  Tope  Benedict  XIV. 
who  exclaimed  upon  learning  of  the 
death  of  Leonard  of  Port  Maurice  say- 
ing: 'We  have  lost  in  him  a  great  deal, 
but  have  gained  a  wise  mediator  in 
heaven.'  In  consideration  of  his  pious 
life,  his  assiduous  diligence  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord,  the  lively  faith  which 
he  implanted  in  unbelievers,  his  just  fights 
which-  he  fought  as  a  missionary.  I  be- 
lieve we  are  justified  in  saying:  'Fran- 
cis, poor  and  meek  here  below,  goes  rich 
into  heaven.' 

"Here  then,  Francis,  brother  beloved  in 
Christ,  you  rest  in  the  blessed  soil  of  your 
country  far  away  from  your  dearest 
children !  Here  among  the  priests  of  God 
and  servants  of  Christ,  you  rest,  the  zeal- 
ous pasti  ir,  and  the  indefatigable  mis- 
sionary of  American  Indians!  Thus  you 
rest,  be'oved  countryman,  among  fel- 
low priests  and  fellow  laborers  in  the 
vineyard  of  God,  at  the  side  of  the  most 
reverend  bishop  who  has  ordained  you  a 
priest.  You  sleep  with  them  side  by  side, 
above  you  all  waketh  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Good  Shepherd  who  calls  out  to  you :  T 
am  the  resurrection  and  the  life:  he  that 
believeth  in  me  although  he  be  dead  shall 
live.'     (John  XI,  25.) 

"Rest  then  from  your  long  and  weary 
toil  till  the  sound  of  the  wakening  angel 
penetrates  your  grave  at  the  dawn  of  the 
great  day  of  the  resurrection  of  ah  flesh 
and  bids  you  to  partake  in  this  flesh  of 
the  joys  of  the  kingdom  of  your  heavenly 
Father." 

Canon  Zamejec  and  other  friends 
erected  a  well  merited  monument  to  his 
memory. 

There,   in   St.   Christopher's  cemetery, 


in  Laibach,  Carniolia,  at  the  left  hand,  as 
you  enter,  lies  buried  Francis  Pierz,  the 
peer  of  all  missionaries.  There  may  be 
others  who  have  devuted  all  their  lives  to 
the  service  of  their  Master  in  the  evange- 
lization of  heathens,  but  he  stands  with- 
out a  parallel  in  the  history  of  missions. 
At  the  age  of  fifty  he  abandons  a'  life  of 
literary  fame  and  bodily  ease,  labors 
thirty-seven  years  for  the  civilization  and 
the  salvation  of  savages,  to  return,  poor 
in  worldy  goods,  but  rich  in  merits  be- 
fore God,  to  ask  a  grave  from  the  coun- 
try that  gave  him  birth.  Requiescat  in 
pace  et   sit   ei   terra  levis! 

\\  hether  or  not  his  name  is  ever  in- 
scribed in  the  calendar  of  Saints,  he  will 
be  revered  as  such  by  those  who  knew 
his   virtues. 

On  May  jo,  1885,  in  St.  Cloud.  Minn., 
the  centenary  of  his  birth  and  the  thir- 
tieth anniversary  of  the  Mass  offered  by 
him  at  that  place,  was  solemnly  com- 
memorated. 

REV.   OTTOX   SKOLLA,   O.S.F. 

It  has  been  erroneously  stated  that 
Father  Skolla  was  a  Dalmatian ;  nay.  he 
was  born  like  his  celebrated  contemporar- 
ies Baraga,  Pierz,  Mrak,  etc.,  in  Carnio- 
lia, Austria,  in  the  city  of  Rudolfswert, 
in  the  year  1805.  The  date  of  his  birth 
could  not  be  ascertained.  Pater  Florentin 
w  In  1  wrote  a  sketch  of  his  life  2"  does  not 
seem  to  have  taken  pains  to  obtain  this 
information  from  the  records  of  his  Or- 
der, where  it  likely  could  be  found,  even 
though  it  was  not  obtainable  from  the 
baptismal  registers  of  the  parish.  The 
vear  in  which  our  Skolla  was  born,  and 


1  Cvetje  z  vertov  sv.  Franciska  IX.,   18S9-9O. 


360 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


for  that  matter,  the  years  of  his  youth, 
were  turbulent  days  in  Carniolia.  As  we 
have  had  occasion  to  mention,  the  French 
were  occupying  the  province  and  war  had 
unsettled  many  things ;  and  we  may  not 
wonder  that  its  effect  of  destruction 
found  its  way  even  into  the  church  rec- 
ords.  ■. 

Father  Skolla's  family  belonged  to  the 
burgeois  class.  His  father  was  Francis 
Skolla  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was 


REV.   OTTON    SKOLLA,  O.S.F. 

Frances  Froehlich.     By  trade  his  father 
was  a  tailor,  but  of  independent  means. 

In  baptism  Father  Skolla  received  the 
names  of  Charles  Nicholas.  His  school- 
ing began  in  his  native  place  where  the 
Franciscans  had  charge  not  only  of  the 
graded  common  schools  but  also  of  the 
six  graded  Gymnasium,  as  Gymnasiums 
ran  in  those  davs.    On  account  of  the  un- 


settled state  of  affairs  our  Charles  N. 
Skolla  was  graduated  in  his  22nd  year. 
Following  his  inclinations  for  the  monas- 
tic life,  he  entered  the  Franciscan  novi- 
tiate and  on  the  13th  of  November,  1837, 
received  the  habit  of  St.  Francis  and  with 
it  the  cloister  name  of  Otto.  On  Septem- 
ber 25,  183 1,  he  was  ordained  a  priest 
and  for  nine  years  after  that  he  labored 
in  the  various  convents  of  his  Province. 
As  the  appeals  of  Baraga  for  more  labor- 
ers in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  in- 
duced the  fifty  year  old  Father  Pierz 
to  give  up  his  flourishing  parish  at 
Podbrezje  and  to  go  to  the  Ameri- 
can Indian  missions,  so  the  com- 
bined appeal  of  both  touched  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  the  heart  of  many 
a  priest,  among  them  also  that  of 
Father  Otto  Skolla.  With  permis- 
sion of  his  Provincial,  the  Very 
Rev.  Felician  Rant,  he  corre- 
sponded with  Father  Baraga  who 
gave  him  the  assurance  that  the 
bishop  of  Detroit  would  receive  him 
into  his  diocese  and  detail  him  to 
the  missions  among  the  Indians. 
November  30,  1840,  he  writes  to 
his  brother,  who  was  an  official  of 
the  state  at  Gurkfeld,  as  follows: 
"As  you  know,  my  superiors  have 
transferred  me  from  Nazaret 21  to 
Tersat  near  Fiume,  where  I  am  prepar- 
ing for  the  Indian  missions.  October 
25th  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Vienna  informing  me  that 
he  has  sent  my  application  to  the  Propa- 
gation of  Faith  in  Rome,  at  the  same 
time  he  gave  me  some  wise  counsel  how 
to  prepare  myself  for  my  future  work. 
In  three  months  I  shall  leave  Tersat  and 


Diocese  of  Lavant  or  Marburg,  Styria. 


SAULTSTE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


361 


go  to  Laibach  to  obtain  there  the  neces- 
sary outfit,  whereupon  I  will  sail  from 
Trieste  for  the,  to  me,  unknown  America. 
I  will  have,  of  course,  no  time  to  pay  you 
or  any  other  relatives  a  visit,  and  you 
will  hardly  get  another  letter  from  me 
while  I  am  in  Europe.  May  you  and 
your  family  always  be  happy  and  take 
first  care  that  you  obtain  the  imperish- 
able crown  in  heaven."  22 

The  necessary  dispensation  from  cer- 
tain points  of  his  vows  and  the  Francis- 
can rule  of  life  was  readily  granted  by  the 


he  concluded  to  remain  with  Father  Ivo 
Levitz,  a  countryman  and  a  Franciscan 
of  his  own  province.  He  stayed  with  him 
until  spring,  assisting  him  in  the  care  of 
his  extensive  congregation.  Father 
Skolla  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the 
New  World  on  New  Year's  day.  1842. 
In  the  beginning  of  May  he  left  New 
York,  traveling  for  almost  two  weeks  on 
the  Erie  Canal.  About  the  15th  of  May 
he  arrived  at  Detroit,  and  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  Bishop  Lefevere,  who  had  but 
lately   succeeded   Bishop   Rese,   resigned. 


THE  CHURCH  AT  LA  POINTE  IN   SKOLLA  S  TIME.      DRAWN   BY    HIMSELF. 


Sacred  Congregation  de  Propaganda 
Fide,  at  Rome,  and  on  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1 84 1,  he  embarked  on  the  mer- 
chant ship  'Fallmouth',  which  small  and 
unseaworthy  as  she  was,  and  on  account 
of  the  severe  storms  which  she  encount- 
ered, took  full  three  months  to  cross  the 
Atlantic;  she  reached  the  harbor  of  New 
York  on  December  25,  1841. 

He  realized  that  in  the  heart  of  the 
winter  traveling  to  the  point  of  his  desti- 
nation would  be  rather  difficult,  therefore 


1  P.  Florentin  Hrovat  in   Cvetje. 


The  kind-hearted  bishop  questioned 
Skolla  as  to  the  particulars  of  his  jour- 
ney, country,  and  plans  for  the  future. 
He  asked  the  Bishop  to  let  him  go  to 
Father  Baraga,  to  act  as  his  assistant,  as 
had  been  agreed  upon  between  Bishop 
Rese,  Baraga,  and  himself.  The  Bishop, 
however,  told  him  that  he  could  not  let 
him  go  there  at  present,  as  he  had  but  a 
few  German  priests  in  his  diocese,  but 
that  he  would  allow  him  to  go  the  next 
year. 

Father  Skolla,  therefore,  took  charge 


362 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


of  the  German  congregation  of  Detroit, 
which  numbered  some  6,000  souls.  He 
resided  with  the  Bishop.  Besides  the 
German,  there  was  also  an  Irish  and  a 
French  congregation  in  Detroit.  The  lat- 
ter was  in  charge  of  Rev.  Francis  Vin- 
cent Badin,  Vicar-General.  The  Cathe- 
dral congregation  consisted  then  of 
French  and  Germans.  The  Germans  had 
High  Mass  with  sermon  at  8  A.  M..  and 
the  French  at  10  A.  M.  Strict  order  was 
observed  in  the  bishop's  house.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  go  out  without  permission. 
Spiritual  reading  was  held  at  table  and 
prayers  said  in  common  every  evening. 
The  religious  instruction  of  the  German 
children  at  the  parochial  school  devolved 
(in  Father  Skolla,  and  we  may  be  sure  he 
did  his  duty  well.  He  had.  moreover,  to 
attend  some  German  and  French  mis- 
sions. Cotrelville.  Lake  Plaisant,  and 
Pontiac. 

In  June,  1843,  Father  Skolla  was  sent 
to  Mackinac,  whither  he  went  accom- 
panied by  his  countryman.  Father  Pierz. 
From  Mackinac  they  went  in  a  birch  ca- 
noe to  Arbre  Croche  (Harbor  Springs). 
The  following  Sunday  Skolla  preached 
in  French,  and  his  sermon  was  inter- 
preted into  Ottawa.  Towards  the  end  of 
July  he  returned  to  Mackinac,  where  he 
was  most  joyfully  received  by  the  people 
of  the  Island.  He  estimates  the  popula- 
tion, most  of  whom  were  French-Cana- 
dians and  half-breeds,  at  two  thousand 
souls.  The  Catholic  soldiers  at  the  Fort 
used  to  attend  Mass  regularly  and  Father 
Skolla  would  preach  to  them  a  short  Eng- 
lish sermon,  as  his  knowledge  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  must  have  been  very  limit- 
ed as  yet.  In  1845  the  soldiers  left  to 
take  part  in  the  Mexican  war.     During 


his  stay  of  two  years  at  Mackinac  he  bap- 
tized more  than  forty  pagan  Indians.23 
Particulars  of  his  work  on  the  Island 
could  not  be  had  because  many  letters 
written  to  his  brothers  are  lost.  From 
those  on  hand  we  only  gain  an  insight  of 
his  tender  feeling  for  his  family  and  now 


REV.  JOS.   HOEBER,  ORDAINED  BY  BISHOP  VERTIN 
JULY     12,     189O,    DIED    AT    LAKE?    LINDEN, 
AUGUST   20,    1894,    AND   IS   BURLED   THERE. 

and  then  a  small  information  as  to  his 
mission.     "Your  letter  of  December  10, 


-'  Cf.  Verwyst ;  for  his  data  ho  says.  "In 
obedience  to  an  order  of  Very  Rev.  Bernadine 
de  Montefranco,  Minister-General  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans from  1856  to  1862.  he  wrote  a  Latin  ac- 
count of  his  labors  at  Mackinac.  La  Pointe, 
Fond  du  Lac,  Oconto  River  and  Keshena,  which 
was  published  in  the  Franciscan  monthly  "La 
Palestina,"  in   1891. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


363 


1842,  I  received  on  the  8th  of   March, 

1843.  The  reliquary  which  brother 
Joachim  sent  me  I  have  converted  into 
a  monstrance;  I  brought  it  to  St.  Ignace 
where  I  give  every  Sunday  benediction 
with  it.  The  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Mother,  from  our  home,  is  now  in  un- 
church, and  as  often  as  I  look  at  it  the 
thought  comes  to  me  that  the  image 
which  I  have  so  often  looked  upon  in  our 
parental  home  I  now  have  the  extreme 
happiness  to  behold  in  this  distant  part 
of  the  world,  among  savages.  The 
watch  which  the  brother  sent  is  indeed 
very  good,  even  better  than  those  of 
American  make,  for  it  keeps  excellent 
time,  as  good  as  a  solar  clock.  The  little 
pocket  knife.  Felix  sent,  I  carry  with  me 
as  a  remembrance.  Brother  Joachim,  at 
Rudolfswert,  has.  however,  done  the 
best  for  my  mission."24 

His  activity  was  not  limited  to  the  Is- 
land and  St.  Ignace,  but.  in  the  absence 
of  Father  Pierz  he  looked  after  all  his 
missions  of  Abre  Croche.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1845.  we  find  some  entries  by  him 
also  in  the  Sault.  Under  date  of  July  17, 
1S45.  he  writes  to  his  brother  Francis 
Xavier:  "My  health  is  firm  indeed;  the 
work  here  and  in  my  missions  is  known 
to  you  from  my  former  letters.  You  may 
imagine,  then,  that  I  am  quite  busy,  sel- 
dom at  home  and  most  of  the  time  on  the 
water.  Your  last  letter  I  received  when 
just  returning  from  Arbre  Croche. 
Some  weeks  ago  Father  Francis  Pierz  in- 
tended to  go  to  Grand  Portage,  and  went 
with  his  two  Indian  guides  from  here 
as  far  as  the  Sault  but  not  finding  suit- 
able transportation  returned  to  Arbre 
Croche.     While    he    was    gone,  Indians 

:i  P.  Florentin  in  Cvetje. 


came  to  get  me  to  attend  to  a  sick  call 
and  I  stayed  there  a  whole  week. 

"I  am  glad  you  like  the  church  of 
Mackinac  which  I  sent  you.  I  would 
have  liked  to  send  you  the  whole  place 
with  the  surroundings,  just  as  I  have 
drawn  them,  but  was  afraid  that  the  let- 
ter being  too  bulky  would  not  reach  you. 
The  picture,  I  first  drew  shows  the  whole 
Island  of  Mackinac  with  the  church, 
presbytery,  some  houses  and  wigwams  of 
Indians  of  whom  there  are  always  some 
on  the  Island.  Across  the  lake  is  to  be 
seen  my  other  mission.  La  Pointe  St.  Ig- 
nace. The  customs  of  these  pei  >ple  I  have 
fully  described  on  former  occasions.  In  . 
September  the  Indians  come  here  to  re- 
ceive their  annual  pay  for  ceded  lands, 
then  Father  Pierz.  will  also  come.  About 
the  death  of  our  dear  mother  I  have  been 
informed  by  Father  Angelus,  of  that  of 
our  sister,  your  own  letter  brought  me 
the  news.  With  the  death  of  the  mother 
all  worldly  interest  is  lost  for  me,  the 
hope  in  my  heart  flames  up  so  much 
brighter  towards  heaven  where  I  will  be 
united  with  my  dear  parents.  O  how 
could  I  be  so  hard-hearted  as  to  forget 
my  mother  who  has  shed  many  a  tear  for 
me.  I  think  of  her  and  the  sister  every 
day  when  offering  the  holy  sacrifice  of 
the  Mass;  they  lived  together  on  earth.  I 
hope  they  are  not  separated  in  heaven. 
I  would  be  pleased  to  hear  the  particulars 
of  the  death  of  mother  and  sister."25 

Much  against  his  own  will  Father 
Skolla  was  detained  in  the  white  missions 
at  Detroit,  it  was  only  the  spirit  of  obe- 
dience that  made  him  conform  to  the 
wishes  of  his  Bishop,  even  in  Mackinac, 
he  was  not  wholly  satisfied.  Like  all  real 
26  P.  Florentin  Hrovat  in  Cvetje.  1880. 


364 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Indian  missionaries  he  was  possessed  of 
the  burning  zeal  for  new  conversions. 
Mackinac  and  the  affiliated  missions 
rarely  offered  such  opportunities.  He  did 
not  fail  to  make  his  desire  known  to  the 
Bishop  and  when  he  came  in  September, 
(1845)- to  Mackinac,  Skolla  pressed  his 
petition  even  more.  Bishop  Lefevere 
yielded.  About  this  transfer  he  writes  to 
the  Leopoldine  Society :  "Last  year  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Lefevere  came  to  Mich- 
ili-Mackinac  to  confirm  and  allowed  me, 
upon  my  repeated  requests,  to  go  to  Rev. 
Father  Baraga  at  L'Anse  to  work  with 
him  in  his  missions.  Upon  my  arrival 
there  the  Rev.  Father  saw  at  once  that 
the  mission  would  nut  give  sufficient  oc- 
cupation, nor  the  small  presbytery  room 
for  both,  but  with  the  permission  of  the 
bishop  he  accompanied  me  to  La  Pointe 
where  I  remained  for  the  time  being,  un- 
til further  orders  from  the  Ordinary. 
La  Pointe,  which  belongs  to  the  Diocese 
of  Milwaukee,  suited  me  so  well  that  I 
applied  for  dismissal  from  the  former 
diocese  and  Father  Baraga  seconded  my 
intention  by  writing  two  letters  that  my 
request  be  granted.  On  the  ninth  of 
June  he  received  my  dismissal  from  the 
diocese,  and  now  I  am  extremely  happy 
that  I  have  at  last,  reached  the  goal  of 
my  ambition.  On  the  4th  of  October  I 
arrived  in  La  Pointe."26 

The  following  spring,  April  27,  1846, 
lie  made  his  first  trip  to  Fond  du  Lac 
from  La  Pointe,  a  distance  of  ninety 
miles.  The  level  country  surrounded  by 
a  chain  of  quite  high  and  not  less  roman- 
tic mountains  appealed  to  him  so  much 
more  because  he  still  had  in  his  mind  the 


beautiful  mountains  and  fruitful  valleys 
of  his  native  Krain.  He  found  there 
four  half-breed  families,  some  Christian 
Indians  and  ever  so  many  more  pagans. 
He  arrived  in  the  settlement  just  as  the 
savages  were  about  to  commence  their 
great  medicine  dance.  This  heathen  lit- 
urgy was  protracted  according  to  the  sup- 
ply of  provisions  for  three  weeks  and  con- 


■°  Letter   dated    Mission   of   St.   Joseph   L.    S. 
July  4,  1856.     Leopoldin  Beriehte  XX. 


REV.    FIDELIS    SUTTER,    DIED    AT    GRAND    MARAIS,    DEC. 
8,    1897.      BURIED    IN    MILWAUKEE. 

sisted  mostly  of  dancing  and  jumping, 
yelling  and  singing,  and  of  beating  the 
drum.  In  the  centre  of  a  large  hut  erected 
for  this  purpose  was  set  upon  a  red  and 
green  painted  stake  a  wooden  owl.  Be- 
fore the  dance  began  two  men  made  each 
day  a  speech.  One  spoke  thus :  "our 
forefathers  have  faithfully  kept  the  great 
medicine  dance  until  this  day  because  it 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


365 


prevents  sickness  and  keeps  our  children 
healthy.  You  know  there  is  a  manitou 
(god)  in  the  earth,  who  makes  the  plants 
and  herbs  grow,  who  gives  us  fishes  out 
of  the  waters  and  wood  and  fire  with 
which  to  cook  our  victuals  and  warm  our- 
selves. This  manitou  below  the  earth 
gives  us  food  and  drink.  But  there  is 
another  manitou  above,  who  rules  the 
winds,  the  air,  and  the  seasons.  Know, 
that  if  you  observe  the  great  medicine 
dance  you  will  go,  after  death,  to  a  place 
of  happiness,  where  you  will  always  beat 
the  drum  and  dance  the  great  medicine 
dance.  Those  who  despise  the  great 
medicine  dance  shall  have  to  pass  over  a 
long  bridge  under  which  two  large  ser- 
pents are  lurking,  and  shall  in  the  middle 
of  it  be  seized  and  devoured  by  those 
two  serpents." 

Another  one  spoke  in  the  same  strain, 
whereupon  they  all  walked  with  folded 
arms  and  great  reverence  around  the 
wooden  owl.  This  looked  very  much 
like  an  unprofitable  trip.  "I  had  not  yet 
baptized  a  single  savage,  because  their 
minds  were  absorbed  by  the  idolatrous 
festivity.  But  some  good  came  from  it. 
The  evening  before  my  departure  I  was 
invited  into  a  house  where  I  found  all  the 
Indians  of  this  locality.  They  were 
seated  upon  the  table,  under  the  table,  on 
the  floor  and  everywhere.  I  took  a  chair 
next  to  the  chiefs,  in  anxious  expectation 
of  what  will  happen.  The  two  chiefs 
filled  their  pipes  and  smoked  amidst  dead 
silence  until  the  pipes  were  smoked  out. 
Then  one  of  them  said:  'Father,  we  are 
glad  that  you  have  come  to  us,  you  are  a 
man  whose  conduct  is  such  as  it  becomes 
you;  you  pray,  preach,  and  speak  of  the 
Great  Spirit  and  for  that  we  all  love  you. 


Father,  you  said  you  would  build  us  a 
church;  you  may  build  one  if  you  will,  for 
we  have  already  selected  a  place  for  it. 
We  are  heathens  as  yet,  but  if  I  am  bap- 
tized, all  my  people  will  want  to  be  bap- 
tized, but  still  they  say  that  they  will  not 
become  Christians  until  you  have  built  a 
church."  This  was  plain  enough  expres- 
sion of  what  they  wanted.  Father  Skol- 
la  therefore  set  to  arrange  a  house  for 
the  purpose  of  a  chapel.  He  swept  and 
cleaned  it  thoroughly,  made  a  wooden 
cross,  ornamented  it  with  such  small  pic- 
tures and  medals  as  he  had  on  hand,  and 
commenced  the  instruction  by  means  of 
an  interpreter  and  reading  of  Indian 
books.  He  baptized  six  persons  and  after 
the  best  possible  instruction  admitted 
them  to  first  holy  Communion.  He  also 
made  good  use  of  the  willingness  of  the 
Indians  by  getting  the  necessary  timbers 
for  the  prospective  church.  He  returned 
to  La  Pointe  on  the  27th  of  May. 

In  Grand  Portage,  whither  he  had  un- 
dertaken a  journey  on  July  8th,  he  found 
a  well  established  Christian  community, 
the  fruit  of  Father  Pierz'  labors.  Al- 
though they  had  not  seen  a  priest  for 
three  years  they  were  still  faithfully  per- 
forming the  enjoined  order  of  daily  de- 
votions. The  visit  was  not  entirely  un- 
expected; three  Indians  who  had  met  the 
missionary  while  at  Fond  du  Lac,  brought 
the  news  home  that  he  would  visit  them 
early  in  July.  They  prepared  therefore 
for  his  reception  by  making  a  chapel  of 
branches.  A  short  visit  was  made  also  to 
Riviere  aux  Courts.  The  church  which 
Father  Pierz  had  commenced  was  still 
without  a  roof.27 


27  Letter   Sept.    1,    1846.     Leopoldin    Berichte. 
XX. 


366 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


Under  date  of  November  9.  1849, 
Father  Skolla  wrote  to  his  brother  Fran- 
cis the  following  letter:  "I  send  yon, 
dear  brother,  a  picture,  of  La  Pointe's 
church  and  surroundings.  I  do  not  think 
it  necessary  to  add  a  description,  because 
I  have  sent  the  same  and  pictures  of  all 
my  missions  to  my  Franciscan  brothers 


would  destroy  our  church  altogether,  so 
we  took  both  of  them  down  and  in  their 
place  built  the  one  you  now  see  in  the 
drawing.  It  is  somewhat  smaller ;  we 
have  also  added  the  shed  in  front. 
Imagine  you  look  straight  north,  and  you 
have  the  veritable  mission  of  La  Pointe 
before  you.  The  smaller  buildings  I  have 


REV.    ANTHONY    HODNIK,    BORN    IN    THE    PARISH    OF    GURK- 

FELI1,   CARN10LIA,   AUSTRIA,    PERISHED   ON    HIS    WAY   TO 

THE  OLD   COUNTRY,    WITH    THE    ILL-FATED    STEAMER    LA 

BOURGOGNE,    JULY   4,    1898. 


in  Laibach,  from  whom  you  may  obtain 
both  for  the  asking,  and  re-draw  the  pic- 
tures if  you  choose.  I  may  only  add  that 
the  church  as  you  see  it  in  this  drawing, 
had  two  steeples.  On  account  of  its  poor 
construction,  whenever  a  storm  raged, 
they  shook  and  we  were  afraid  the  wind 


built  myself.  The  house  and  the  fence 
around  the  garden  are  nicely  whitewash- 
ed. In  the  garden  I  have  raised  this 
year  better  potatoes  than  I  have  ever  seen 
or  tasted  in  Europe;  this  was  my  first  at- 
tempt. 

"The  house  contains  three  rooms,  heat- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


367 


ed  in  the  winter  by  a-n  iron  stove;  the 
small  building  is  my  wood-shed  which  I 
expect  to  use,  when  finished  accordingly, 
for  cellar  purposes. 

"The  cemetery  in  front  of  the  church 
is  small  and  swampy,  and  the  Indians 
strongly  object  to  being  buried  in  a 
swamp,  because,  although  they  are  now 
Christians,  they  cannot  overcome  their 
olden  predjudices,  they  believe,  namely, 
that  one  must  enter  eternity  over  a  nar- 
row bridge.  For  this  reason  they  first 
place  stones  and  sand  with  some  birch 
bark,  under  the  coffin  and  over  this  a 
house-shaped  box  which  they  fill  with 
sand  to  the  top. 

"It  may  also  interest  you  what  Pro- 
testants write  about  our  missions  among 
the  Indians.  In  the  month  of  August, 
1847,  a  venerable  old  man,  accompanied 
by  a  few  others,  came  to  La  Pointe  to 
view  this  Indian  country.  I  showed  him 
our  church,  explained  the  pictures  and 
other  objects  of  interest.  Returning  to 
New  York  this  man  described  in  a  paper, 
of  the  1 8th  of  October,  1847,  everything 
noteworthy  that  came  under  his  observa- 
tion. About  this  mission  he  writes :  'La 
Pointe  on  Lake  Superior  is  situated  on 
a  nice  island  of  some  twelve  square  miles, 
there  are  about  one  hundred  houses  with 
three  hundred  Indian  families.  Besides 
three  good  company  stores  there  are  two 
churches,  a  Catholic  and  a  Protestant. 
The  former  is  placed  on  an  elevation 
from  where  one  has  a  fine  view  of  the 
lake.  The  inside  of  the  church  is  built  in 
an  ordinary  style,  it  has  a  nice  altar  and 
about  twenty-five  paintings  ornament  the 
walls.' 

"  'I  noticed  that  ordinarily  the  Catho- 
lic missionary  has  the  better  success  and 


gains  more  savages  for  his  creed  than 
the  Protestant,  because  their  services  are 
more  solemn  and  edifying.'  ' 

Another  Protestant  writer,28  after  a 
very  flattering  opinion  about  Baraga, 
says :  'We  also  wished  to  visit  Father 
Otto  Skolla.  from  Rudolfswert,  Caryn- 
thia,  (should  be  Carniolia)  a  pious  monk 
li  icated  on  Madeleine  Island.  We  rapped 
at  his  door  with  a  genuine  home  feeling, 
and  now  almost  blush  when  we  think 
how  friendly  a  reception  this  pious  mis- 
sionary accorded  to  us  laymen.  We  have 
not  seldom  been  eye  witnesses  of  farewell 
biddings  or  meetings  of  friends,  but  do 
not  recollect  a  more  touching  scene  than 
when  this  jovial  Franciscan  was  told  that 
we  came  direct  from  the  capital  of  Aus- 
tria. This  manifestation  of  pleasure  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  in  twenty  years 
( twelve  only)  he  has  not  shaken  hands 
with  a  countryman  or  spoken  in  his 
mother  tongue.21'  In  his  priestly  func- 
tions, be  it  on  the  pulpit  or  in  the  con- 
fessional, or  on  the  street,  he  speaks  In- 
dian, French  or  English.  His  poverty 
touched  our  hearts  most;  even  in  his  sa- 
cred calling  it  is  a  great  hindrance  to  him 
in  doing  more  good  for  his  Catholic  con- 
gregation, which  consists  nearly  all  of 
converted  Indians  and  half-breeds,  and  at 
that  so  poor  that  he  cannot  expect  from 
them  anything  for  himself  or  for  the 
church.  He  is  his  own  sexton,  he  decor- 
ates his  own  altars,  sweeps  the  church, 
rings  the  bell,  keeps  his  own  house,  and 
even  paints  pictures  for  the  church. 


-"  Reisen  in  Nord  Amerika  in  den  Jahren 
1852  und   1S53.     Leipzig.   Cf.   Hrovat. 

""Neither  is  true.  The  writer  thinks  Father 
Skolla  German ;  he  has  shaken  hands  with  Fath- 
ers Pierz  and  Baraga  and  most  likely  con- 
versed with  them  in  Slovenian,  his  mother 
tongue. 


368 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


"On  Sunday  we  assisted  at  the  ser- 
vices. Four  half-breeds  dressed  in  linen 
surplices,  sang  a  Latin  mass  with  such  an 
expression  of  piety  that  one  would  act- 
ually think  they  understood  every  word 
of  it.  The  sermon  was  plain  and  com- 
prehensible to  his  common  parishioners. 
In  the  afternoon  he  gave  catechetical  in- 
structions in  Indian  to  those  who  had 
but  recently  joined  the  Church,  or  who 
on  account  of  their  great  age,  could  not 
understand  any  other  language.  At  the 
conclusion  benediction  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  was  given  to  the  kneeling  con- 
gregation who  blessed  themselves  most 
devoutly.  It  is  to  be  heartily  regretted 
that  more  means  cannot  be  placed  at  his 
disposition,  for  then  this  Catholic  mis- 
sionary would  be  more  efficient  in  his  un- 
selfish work ;  he  would  be  truly  the 
teacher  of  youth,  the  physician  of  the 
sick,  the  consoler  of  the  poor  and  the  be- 
reaved." 

During  his  stay  at  La  Pointe  Father 
Skolla  had  two  extraordinary  visits  from 
clergymen.  "I  may  also  mention,  he 
writes  to  his  brother  in  the  above  letter, 
that  in  September  of  1847,  three  mission- 
aries. Revs.  Baraga,  Pierz  and  Chone, 
came  to  me  and  stayed  almost  a  month'; 
last  year  Fathers  Baraga  and  Chone  re- 
mained here  six  weeks.  You  may  im- 
agine how  glad  I  was,  and  that  I  gave 
them  of  the  best  my  poor  home  could  af- 
ford ;  the  missionary  is  satisfied  with  al- 
most anything.  On  this  occasion,  we 
held,  for  this  part  of  the  country,  extra- 
ordinary solemn  services.  As  luck  would 
have  it,  I  had  a  pair  of  old  dalmatics  with 
me  and  I  took  out  my  best  vestment. 
Father  Baraga  sang  three  times  a  solemn 
High  Mass,  Father  Chone  and  I  assisted 


him.  This  solemnity  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  my  people  who  in  all  their 
days  have  not  seen  anything  like  it. 

"This  year  I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  visit 
from  Rev.  Clement  Boulanger,  Provin- 
cial of  the  Jesuits.  He  arrived  directly 
from  New  York  and  remained  here  three 
weeks.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Pere  Chone 
at  Fort  Williams.  On  the  8th  of  August 
he  returned  to  LaPointe  and  stayed  two 
weeks  more.  He  is  a  man  of  sixty,  was 
ordained  in  1813,  and  is  a  Frenchman, 
like  Father  Chone.  He  is  unpretentious, 
humble,  but  very  friendly,  a  true  son  of 
St.  Ignatius  Loyola.  In  May,  he  at- 
tended the  Council  of  Baltimore  and  told 
me  that  there  will  be  four  new  archbish- 
oprics erected,  in  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati, 
New  York,  and  New  Orleans,  many  bish- 
oprics and  also  some  bishops  appointed 
for  the  Indian  missions."  30 

Persistent  rumors  of  the  Government's 
intention  of  removing  the  La  Pointe  In- 
dians across  the  Mississippi  circulated 
freely  amongst  the  scattered  tribes  in 
Northern  Wisconsin.  In  summer.  1850, 
a  general  council  was  held  in  Au  Lac  du 
Sable  but  no  general  agreement  was 
reached.  The  death  of  the  President, 
Zachariah  Taylor,  seems  to  have  warded 
off  the  threatening  transfer,  at  least  for 
some  time,  but  the  rumors  had  thorough- 
ly unsettled  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  so 
that  they  commenced  looking  for  a  place 
of  safety  without  being  confined  to  a 
reservation. 

Writes  Father  Skolla :  "The  beauti- 
ful island  of  La  Pointe  is  as  flourishing 
as  it  was,  there  are  still  three  hundred 
Indians  living  here  although  many  have 
emigrated    to    Ortonagang,    Lac   de    St. 


30  P.  Florentin   Hrovat  in  Cvetje,   1890. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


369 


Croix  and  other  places.  On  account  of 
the  persistent  rumors  that  all  the  Indians 
here  will  have  to  leave  the  island,  with 
exception  of  two  or  three  families,  they 
have  all  made  up  their  minds  to  go  away 
from  here  into  more  northern  places,  as 
Fond  du  Lac,  Aile  des  Corbeaux,  etc.,  to 
find  a  home  and  to  engage  in  agricul- 
ture. so 

These  occasional  disruptions  did  not  dis- 
turb Skolla's  usual  activity.  In  summer, 
1853,  he  revisited  all  his  missions  and 
gave  his  Fond  du  Lac  congregation  a 
special  spiritual  retreat.  On  Sunday, 
July  17th,  when  he  was  just  closing  the 
exercises,  Father  Pierz  unexpectedly 
came  in.  The  missions  had  fallen  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  newly  erected  dio- 
cese of  St.  Paul  and  Father  Pierz  took 
charge  of  them. 

The  Minnesota  missions  being  cut  off 
and  the  number  of  families  at  La  Pointe 
having  been  considerably  reduced,  Bishop 
Henni  thought  that  Father  Skolla's  zeal 
could  be  placed  at  greater  usefulness 
elsewhere,  invited  him  to  locate  among 
the  Menominees  in  the  Keshena  Reser- 
vation. 

Father  Skolla  labored  among  the  Chip- 
pewas  on  Lake  Superior  eight  years  and 
christened  during  that  time  four  hundred 
and  one  Indians,  adults  and  children.  He 
left   La   Pointe  on  the  9th  of  October, 

This  change  he  reports  to  the  Leo- 
poldine  Society  in  the  following  letter, 
dated  Oconto  River,  May  18,  1854. 

"After  eight  years  of  sojourn  at  La 
Pointe,  I  departed  from  there  on  the  9th 
of   October,    1853,    at   the   command   of 


Bishop  Henni.  I  went  straight  to  Mil- 
waukee to  confer  with  the  Bishop  regard- 
ing my  new  mission.  After  a  few  days 
1  went  to  Green  Bay,  where,  the  first  time 
in  ten  years,  I  preached  on  Sunday  in 
German.  Continuing  my  journey  I  fol- 
lowed the  Oconto  River  and  happily  ar- 
rived in  my  station  on  the  3rd  of  Novem- 
ber, with  a  record  of  many  a  small  acci- 
dent.    The  Menominees  received  me  cor- 


30  Letter    to    Leopoldine    Society,    September 
22,  1853.     Annals.  XXVI. 


REV.  JOS.   WALLACE,  DIED  IN   MENOMINEE,  DEC.   14, 
1896. 

dially  and  immediately  turned  over  to  my 
use  a  small  house.  Some  days  afterward 
they  led  me  to  a  sandy  elevation  where 
many  Indians  had  gathered.  I  addressed 
them  in  the  Chippewa  dialect  which  they 
understood  a  little.  There  was  a  visible 
joy  on  their  faces  that  they  could  con- 
verse with  the  Black  Robe  without  an  in- 


370 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


terpreter.  A  few  days  later  we  walked 
to  a  fertile  valley  where  there  was  an 
empty  house,  and  with  the  boards  bought 
at  the  saw  mill,  we  commenced  the  re- 
modeling of  the  house  into  a  church ;  but 
on  account  of  the  late  season  as  well  as 
for  lack  of  funds  we  could  not  complete  it 
before  winter.  It  is  so  small,  being  only 
twenty  four  by  eighteen,  that  scarcely  all 
the  baptized  savages  will  find  room  in  it. 
Thirty  miles  from  here  is  a  large  settle- 
ment of  baptized  and  non-baptized  Me- 
nominees ;  from  all  sides  they  come  in 
daily  requesting  me  to  christen  them.  The 
celebrated  Menominee  chief  Oshkosh 
promised  me  faithfully  to  embrace  Chris- 
tian religion,  together  with  his  family,  in 
the  spring.  He  is  so  well  known  that  the 
Government  decorated  him  with  a  medal 
for  rendered  services.  He  lives  with  his 
three  hundred  subject's  far  out  in  the 
forests.  Jadwedok,  the  oldest  chief  has 
made  me  the  same  promise  and  now  my 
journeys  through  the  Oconto  valley  and 
around  Green  Bay  have  no  other  purpose 
than  to  unite  all  these  Menominees,  who 
are  partly  Christians,  partly  heathens,  in- 
to one  Christian  congregation.  Xo  pen 
can  adequately  describe  how  wonderfully 
God  pours  out  his  blessing  upon  these 
poor  savages! 

"My  time  passes  fast  among  these 
good  natured  children  of  the  wilderness. 
We  meet  early  in  the  morning  in  the 
church,  Mass  follows  morning  prayers 
and  then  an  instruction  to  the  neophytes 
and  children  which  may  last  for  two 
hours  at  a  time.  Upon  a  sign  with  a 
small  trumpet  these  retire  and  the  old 
men  and  women  enter  for  their  instruc- 
tion; in  the  afternoon  a  similar  one  is 
given  for  grown-up  men.     In  the  evening 


they  all  come  again.  Many  have  learned 
the  customary  prayers  either  in  Chip- 
pewa or  Menominee  and  the  number  of 
those  who  have  received  baptism  since 
(the  27th  of)  November  of  last  year  to 
the  30th  of  April,  1854,  has  reached  one 
hundred  thirty-two.  I  noticed  right  after 
the  first  instruction  that  children  of  six 
to  eight  years  and  even  some  adults  do 
not  understand  Chippewa.  I  had,  there- 
fore, the  Our  Father,  the  Hail  Mary, 
and  the  Rosary  mysteries  translated  in- 
to Menominee  dialect  and  now,  after  six 
weeks,  they  can  say  the  rosary  in  either 
dialect.  I  hope  to  acquire  it  myself  in  a 
short  time.  I  am  asking  the  savages  how 
they  call  this  or  that  thing,  thus  learning 
new  vocabulary  and  the  difficult  pro- 
nunciation ;  but  I  know  by  heart  all  the 
prayers  in  their  language. 

"The  Menominees  are  quiet  and  good 
natured  people ;  among  them  are  found 
many  fervent  Christians  and  they  all  hate 
intoxicating  liquors,  which  virtue  impels 
them  most  to  embrace  the  Catholic  faith. 
They  dislike  banquetings  because  they  are 
usually  connected  with  drunkenness.  My 
Catholic  Indians  keep,  however,  one  ban- 
quet in  a  year,  that  is  on  "Three  Kings" 
day  or  Epiphany.  The  chiefs  are  called 
'Ogimag' — Kings — in  Indian,  for  this 
reason,  in  their  simple  way,  they  wish  to 
celebrate  the  feast  of  their  patron  saints. 
Each  year  one  chief  prepares  the  enter- 
tainment to  which  his  relatives  also  con- 
tribute and  this  Indian  social  event  passes 
off  in  an  orderly  manner  amidst  of  religi- 
ous song. 

"I  must  say  that  the  Menominees  com- 
pletely renounce  their  hereditary  idola- 
trous customs  and  jugglery;  they  bring  to 
me,  right  after  their  baptism  bags-ful  of 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


371 


idolatrous  things  which  they  throw  in  my 
presence  into  the  fire.  Often  they  burn 
kerchiefs,  bags  and  many  other  useful 
things,  which  I  tell  them  to  retain,  because 
they  wish  to  destroy  the  last  vestige  of 
their  former  idolatry.  The  loss,  of  course, 
is  not  great  as  the  whole  outfit  is  very  old 
coming  down  in  inheritance  from  their 
ancestors. 

"In  a  few  days  we  will  leave  Oconto 
for  good.  At  the  command  of  the  U.  S. 
Government    we  must    remove    to  Wolf 


RFV.    J.    R.    REGIS,     JOINED    THE    TRAPPISTS. 

River  Falls  thirty  miles  from  here,  where 
a  permanent  settlement  has  been  granted 
the  Indians  in  exchange  for  the  reserva- 
tion right  across  the  Mississippi.  A  par- 
cel of  land  will  be  allotted  to  each  family 
for  cultivation. 

"On  the  ioth  instant,  (May.  1854), 
the  government  commissioner,  Dr.  Hueb- 
schmann,  came  to  Wolf  River  Falls  He 
wrote  requesting  me  to  come  there  with 
my  Indians  in  order  to  deliberate  concern- 


ing the  affairs  of  the  Menominees.  I  went 
with  my  forest  children  and  we  were  re- 
ceived in  a  friendly  way.  He  spoke  to 
them  about  their  affairs  in  English  and  I 
interpreted  his  speech,  at  his  request,  in 
Chippewa.  The  Commissioner  stayed 
two  days  and  spoke  to  my  Indians  thrice 
in  order  to  make  them  fully  understand 
what  had  been  decided  concerning  them 
in  Washington. 

"The  United  States  Government  agrees 
to  give  them  for  fifteen  years  a  saw  mill 
and  a  grist  mill,  a  blacksmith  and  a  car- 
penter and  two  schools  are  to  be  erected. 
The  agent  for  the  Menominees  will  soon 
arrive  in  Wolf  River  Falls  and  give  to 
each  family  a  piece  of  land  for  cultivation. 
The  chiefs  have  signed  their  names  to  this 
agreement  and  the  whole  matter  has  been 
forwarded  to  Washington  to  be  ratified 
by  Congress."  31 

Father  Skolla  removed  with  his  charges 
to  Keshena-Shawano,  as  the  Wolf  River 
Falls  was  called  in  their  language.  For  a 
long  time  there  was  an  unusual  activity  in 
the  place.  Under  the  direction  and  in- 
struction of  the  Government  carpenter, 
houses  were  being  put  up.  In  October  the 
first  pay  dav  came,  each  individual,  man, 
woman  or  child,  receiving  twenty  dollars 
in  gold,  besides  flour,  salt,  pork,  potatoes, 
and  corn  being  distributed  among  the 
families.  For  the  purpose  of  agriculture 
ten  yoke  of  oxen,  wagons,  ploughs,  har- 
rows and  other  implements  were  given 
them,  as  also  an  experienced  farmer  to 
teach  them  how  to  till  the  soil. 

"The  first  church,  'the  bark  church,' 
was  built  in  1854,  near  Lake  Keshena, 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  the 


31  Annals, 
Cvetje. 


and 


Florentin      Hrovat      in 


372 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


village  of  Keshena.  The  site  selected  by 
Skolla  for  his  mission  was  on  the  south 
side  of  the  lake,  where  the  shore  is  high 
and  steep  and  commands  a  full  view  of  the 
lake  and  the  surrounding  country.  He  in- 
duced the  Indians  to  build  a  small  church 
and  parsonage  at  once.  Both  buildings 
were  very  primitive ;  no  floor  but  the  bare 
ground  and  the  roof  covered  with  bark; 
his  house  consisted  of  one  room.  Near 
the  church  was  the  cemetery  (now  no 
longer  used),  where  about  one  hundred  lie 
buried.  In  1856  the  second  church  was  to 
be  built  in  the  village  of  Keshena.  From 
November,  1853,  until  August,  1856, 
Father  Skolla  baptized  three  hundred  and 
two  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  an  old 
chief  far  over  one  hundred  years  of  age. 
The  neophytes  were  full  of  fervor;  every 
Sunday  from  twenty  to  thirty  received 
holy  Communion. 

"To  promote  temperance  among  his 
Indians,  Father  Skolla  had  a  picture  hung 
up,  depicting  the  evils  of  drinking  and  the 
beneficial  effects  of  temperance.  On  the 
left,  a  drunken  man  with  ragged  clothes 
is  seen  striking  his  poor  wife  with  a  poker 
whilst  she  is  clasping  to  her  breast  her 
poor  infant  child.  A  devil  with  a  diaboli- 
cal laugh  on  his  ugly  face  reaches  to  him 
a  glass  of  brandy  taken  out  of  a  jug  label- 
ed, "Fourth  proof  brandy."  The  poor 
children  crowd  around  their  mother,  cry- 
ing. On  the  right  side  is  seen  a  fine  gen- 
tlemen instructing  his  little  son.  A  young 
daughter  sits  at  a  table  full  of  nice  things 
to  eat.  The  happy  mother  holds  a  smil- 
ing baby  on  her  lap  whom  she  is  lovingly 
caressing.  The  Indians  used  to  look  a 
great  deal  at  this  picture,  which  made  a 
deep  impression  on  their  minds  and  in- 
duced two  hundred  and  sixty  of  them  to 


take  a  temperance  pledge;  eighty  took  it 
for  life  and  kept  it  faithfully. 

"Although  a  man  of  great  sanctity, 
Father  Skolla,  nevertheless  became  a  vic- 
tim of  vile  slanders.  Some  malevolent, 
superstitious  Indians  used  to  lurk  about 
his  poor  little  shanty  watching  through 
the  holes  and  cracks  in  the  walls  every- 
thing he  was  doing  inside.  He  kept 
a  cat  and  would,  for  a  pastime,  play 
with  it,  as  he  was  staying  all  alone 
and  had  no  one  with  whom  to  con- 
verse. He  would  then  talk  to  the  cat, 
and  the  Indian  spies  outside  hearing  him, 
but  seeing  nobody  with  him  in  the  room, 
were  convinced  that  he  was  talking  to 
ghosts.  In  a  similar  manner,  when  they 
saw  him  play  chess  alone,  as  it  is  said  he 
did  at  times,  they  imagined,  perhaps,  that 
the  figures  on  the  chess  board  were  bad 
spirits  with  whom  the  Father  had  inter- 
course, or  that  the  white  figures  repre- 
sented the  whites  and  the  dark  colored 
ones  the  Indians ;  and  their  mutual  strug- 
gle on  the  board  typified  the  struggle  of 
the  two  races  for  the  mastery  of  the  land. 
Moreover,  they  saw  him  sometimes  in 
the  evening  walking  in  the  grave  yard  or 
entering  the  church  to  pray.  It  is  said 
that  he  spent  much  of  his  leisure  time 
praying  in  the  church.  This  pious  cus- 
tom gave  rise  to  a  most  horrible  calumny. 
He  was  charged  with  opening  the  graves 
at  night  and  taking  out  the  hearts  of 
newly  buried  corpses  to  make  out  of  them 
"bad  medicine"  for  injuring  people. 

"This  charge  was  supported  by  an  old 
pagan  Chippewa,  who  was  on  a  visit  with 
the  Menominees.  This  Indian  knew  Fath- 
er Skolla  and  came  one  day  to  see  him. 
Skolla  had  a  box  in  which  he  used  to  put 
his  things.    The  Chippewa  sat  on  the  box, 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


373 


and,  tapping  on  it  with  his  hand,  said  to 
his  companions ;  "This  hox  contains  a 
piece  of  dry  flesh  which  the  priest  has  tak- 
en from  the  body  of  a  dead  person  to  use 
it  as  bad  medicine."  This  calumnious 
and  stupid  story  was  repeated  all  over  the 
reservation  and  believed  by  many  Indians, 
especially  pagans.  One  day  a  young  per- 
son was  buried  and  the  miserable  charge 
was  made  again.  So  strong  was  the  senti- 
ment against  the  priest  that  some  de- 
manded that  the  corpse  be  exhumed  and 
examined.  Father  Skolla  was  informed  of 
this.  He  mildly  said :  "You  can  do  as  you 
please,  but  by  doing  so  you  will  only  hurt 
yourselves."  The  disinterment  was  then 
omitted,  but  at  some  other  occasion  it  was 
actually  done  to  satisfy  curiosity.  It  is 
easy  to  be  seen  that  such  calumnies  must 
have  been  a  great  hindrance  to  his 
missionary  work  as  they  created  feelings 
of  distrust  and  aversion  against  the  priest, 
the  more  so  as  many  Indians  were  very 
ignorant  and  superstitious.  At  first  a  small 
sum  out  of  the  annuities  was  reserved  for 
the  missionary's  support.  This  was  subse- 
quently withheld,  most  likely  on  account 
of  those  base,  lying  reports  circulated 
about  him.  As  he  had  no  other  means  of 
support,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  in 
i857-"  32 

In  the  fall  of  1858  Father  Skolla  re- 
turned to  Europe.  His  first  visit  was  to 
Rome  to  present  himself  to  the  Father 
General  who  at  first  was  disposed  to  as- 
sign him  as  Slavic  confessor  to  their  house 
in  Jerusalem.  But  in  consideration  of  his 
age  and  rather  poor  health,  he  was  sent 
in  the  same  capacity  to  Assisi.  He  re- 
mained there  four  years  and  when  in  that 


time  the  condition  of  his  health  did  not 
improve,  he  asked  for  permission  to  re- 
turn to  his  native  country.  The  Provin- 
cial of  Assisi  province  wrote  the  follow- 
ing testimonial :  "Father  Otto,  native  of 
Carniolia,  has  spent  in  this  'Convento  di 
S.  Maria  degli  Angeli'  four  years,  during 
which  time  he  has  been  an  exemplary  re- 
ligious, a  true  son  of  St.  Francis.  This 
much  I  can  testify  in  this  matter,  and  lie 


REV.   A.    TH.    SCHUTTELHOFFER,   DIED   AT    SHEN- 
ANDOAH.   PA.,    DECEMBER    29,    I9O4. 

now  leaves  this  monastery  to  restore  his 
health  in  his  native  country."  33 

After  twenty-two  years  he  reached  the 
peaceful  convent  of  Nazaret  where  he  had 
received  the  habit  of  Saint  Francis  so 
many  years  ago.  The  beautiful  valley, 
the  roomy  convent  on  the  hill  the  cells  in 
it,  the  garden  and  field  around  it  all  awoke 


32  Verwyst.     Cf.     Annals    and     P.     Florentin. 
Hrovat  in  Cvetie. 


33  Dated     October     27,     1862.      P.     Florentin 
Hrovat.    O.   S.   F.   in  Cvetje  1890. 


374 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


memories  of  the  past.  The  sun  rose  as 
brilliant  as  ever  over  the  Styrian  valley, 
nature  was  as  verdant,  the  flowers  as  frag- 
rant as  in  the  days  when  he  wended  his 
way  to  the  monastery  as  a  postulant ;  the 
sonorous  voices  chanting  the  divine  of- 
fice now  also  are  heard  from  the  choir, 
but  they  are  voices  of  a  younger  genera- 
tion— there  were  but  few  then  in  his 
Province  of  the  Order  who  knew  him  be- 
fore he  went  to  America.  He  therefore 
seldom  spoke  of  his  missionary  life.  Now 
and  then  he  preached,  otherwise  was  al- 
lowed to  make  use  of  the  time  according 
to  his  own  good  will.  His  skill  at  draw- 
ing not  even  old  age  impaired.  For  the 
amusement  of  novices  he  often  drew  pic- 
tures from  what  he  had  seen  in  the  world. 
The  'harmonica'  which  had  been  a  faith- 
ful companion  in  all  his  missions,  was 
made  to  produce,  under  his  skillful  fing- 
ers, the  sweetest  melodies  in  honor  of  the 
Blessed  Queen  of  Heaven  and  then  he 
would  sing  to  her  glory  in  German,  Eng- 
lish, French,  Italian,  Slovenian,  Chippe- 
wa or  Menominee,  as  his  good  humor 
would  suggest. 

His  superiors  always  showed  him  a  fit- 
ting respect.  In  1868  out  of  consideration 
for  his  health,  to  give  him  the  benefit  of 
a  milder  winter  he  was  transferred  to 
Tersat,  near  Fiume.  There  in  the  time 
honored  monastery  over-looking  the  Ad- 
riatic, our  Father  Skolla  spent  the  even- 
ing of  his  life.  The  last  years  his  mem- 
ory had  failed  him  completely.  He  died 
on  the  24th  day  of  April,  1879. 

A  small  cross  marks  the  grave  of  this 
great  Indian  missionary  bearing  the  ordi- 
nary inscription. 

To  his  memory  we  record  here  these 
words  which  he  penned  himself : 


"Jesus,  Kije-Mainito  Wegossimig! 
Ki  gidapine  tchibaiatigong  epitchi  sagi- 
iian.  Enigokodecia  ki  wawiiawamin. 
Iawenumi-chin,  wakwing  wabamina.  Je- 
sus,  Son  of  God!  You  died  on  the  cross, 
because  you  so  much  loved  me.  I  thank 
you  with  all  my  heart.  Have  mercy  on 
me,  that  I  may  behold  you  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom.34 

REV.  LAWRENCE  JOSEPH  DUNNE 
Father  Dunne  was  the  first  priest 
adopted  for  the  Diocese  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  and  Marquette,  then  only  a  Vicar- 
iate Apostolic.  Immediately  after  his  con- 
secration, November  1,  1853,  Bishop  Ba- 
raga went  to  Europe  to  recruit  priests 
and  also  to  obtain  means  for  his  new 
charge.  On  his  way  he  passed  through 
Ireland  and  when  in  Dublin  called  on  the 
Most  Reverend  Archbishop  Paul  Cullen 
with  a  view  of  probably  obtaining  some 
ecclesiastics  from  All  Hallows.  But  none 
were  available.  Only  Father  Dunne,  when 
learning  of  the  American  Bishop's  pres- 
ence and  the  purpose  of  his  visit,  proffer- 
ed his  services;  he  was  accepted,  and  came 
to  America  with  Bishop  Baraga  in  the 
summer  of  1854. 

Father  Dunne  was  born  in  Dublin.  Ire- 
land, in  about  1824.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  All  Hallows  and  was  also  ordained 
priest  there  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  for 
the  Foreign  Missions.  He  accompanied 
the  bishop  with  five  other  young  priests  to 
South  Africa  and  spent  five  years  on  the 
missions  among  the  Kaffirs.  Poor  health 
compelled  him  to  return.  When  he  met 
Bishop  Baraga  he  had  been  actively  en- 
gaged over  thirteen  years  in  the  missions 
of  Scotland. 

In  Upper-Michigan  Father  Dunne  was 
31  P.  F.  Hrovat,  O.  S.  F.  in  Cvetje  1890. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


37S 


sent  to  Ontonagon,  then  a  promising  mis- 
sion. With  great  zeal  he  set  to  work  up- 
building the  parish.  He  built  the  church 
together  with  an  addition  for  his  own 
residence.  In  the  second  year  he  opened 
a  school  under  the  supervision  of  his 
brother  who  had  followed  him  into  the 
wilds  of  Michigan  fur  that  purpose.  In 
the  spring  of  1859  he  laid  down  his  pasto- 


REV.   LAWRENCE   DUNNE. 

rate  and  removed  to  the  Chicago  diocese 
and  became  pastor  at  De  Kalb.  Eight 
years  later  he  was  removed  to  Dwight  and 
with  the  division  of  the  diocese  passed 
over  to  the  diocese  of  Peoria.  In  October, 
1878,  he  came  to  Geneseo,  111  .  where  he 
remained  until  poor  health  and  old  age 
compelled  him  to  resign.  Several  years 
he  spent  in  traveling  for  his  health.     Re- 


turning to  the  diocese  he  took  up  active 
work  in  El  Paso,  111.  Old  age  forced  him 
to  retire.  He  died  in  Chicago  at  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Poor  Handmaids  of  Jesus 
Christ,  on  January  5,   1894. 

REV.  HENRY  L.  THIELE. 
To  our  great  disappointment  we  have 
•not  been  able  to  obtain  complete  data 
about  this  priest,  who,  on  account  of  be- 
ing the  first  one  ordained  in  and  for  the 
diocese,  forms  an  interesting  personage  in 
our  local  history.  He  was  born  in  1819, 
in  the  province  of  Hannover.  Germany, 
and  came,  at  the  invitation  of  Bishop  Ba- 
raga, to  America  in  the  fall  of  1854. 
Having  completed  a  satisfactory  theolog- 
ical course  in  Europe,  he  was  ordained 
on  October  Jist,  in  the  same  year;  and 
immediately  appointed  to  the  Holy  Re- 
deemer parish  of  Eagle  Harbor,  the 
charge  of  which  he  retained  until  June, 
1 86 1.  Removed  to  Mackinac  Island 
he  showed  so  much  dissatisfaction  that 
the  Bishop,  agreeable  to  his  wishes, 
returned  him  to  his  former  parish  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year.  While  in  Eagle' 
Harbor  he  built  the  Phoenix  church.  In 
October,  1862,  he  withdrew  from  the  dio- 
cese with  the  intention  of  joining  a  relig- 
ious community,  but  returned  in  August, 
1864.  whereupon  he  was  made  pastor  in 
Alarquette.  Being  certain  that  the  epis- 
copal See  would  be  removed  to  that  city 
he  commenced  the  building  of  a  spacious 
church  which  afterwards  became  the  first 
Cathedral.  His  former  inclination  to 
community  life  again  revived,  and  he  re- 
signed his  position  to  spend  his  declining 
days  with  his  life-long  friend,  the  Very 
Rev.  Father  Sorin,  founder  of  the  Notre 
Dame  University.  He  died  there  on  the 
17th  of  August,  1873. 


376 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


VERY    REV.    EDWARD    JACKER. 

Father  J  acker  was  born  on  the  2nd 
of  September,  1827,  in  Ellwangen, 
Wuertemberg.  He  attended  the  Gymna- 
sium of  his  native  city  where  his  father 
was  professor.  Upon  completing  the 
Gymnasium  he  entered  the  University 
of  Tuebingen  as  a  candidate  of  theology,- 
but  later  abandoned  that  study  to  accept 
the  position  of  private  tutor  in  the  family 
of  Count  Grune  at  Liege,  Belgium. 

Father  Jacker  came  to  America  in  the 
spring    of    1854,    with    the    intention    of 
joining     the     Benedictine     Fathers 
whose   labors   among   the   Germans 
of  Pennsylvania  were  at  that  time 
so   meritoriously   mentioned   in    the 
press.      A  correspondence  with   the 
late    Archabbot    Wimmer    brought 
Jacker  in  close  connection  with  the 
Order  and  he  entered  upon  the  no- 
vitiate  as    Frater    Bede    in    the    St. 
Vincent's      Abbey,      Westmoreland 
Co.,  Pa.   During  the  year  he  learned 
much  about  the  Indian  missions  and 
the  scarcity  of  Indian  missionaries. 
Deeming  his  usefulness  greater  on 
such   missions,   he  decided  to  leave 
the   Order   and   at   once   applied   to 
Bishop   Baraga  who  had  just  then 
become  the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Up- 
per   Michigan.      Being   received   by 
the    Bishop,    Jacker    came    to    the 
Sault.      His   theological    studies    at 
Tuebingen  and  Munich  were  more 
than    complete    and    a    short    time    suf- 
ficed to  prepare  himself  for  the  ordina- 
tion to  priesthood,  which  took  place  at  the 
Sault  on  the  5th  day  of  August,    1855. 
Father  Jacker  was  the  second  priest  or- 
dained for  the  diocese. 

Immediately  after  his  ordination  Fath- 


er Jacker  was  sent  to  L'Anse,  the  present 
Assinins.  His  ambitions  were  satisfied. 
There,  among  those  simple  children  of  the 
forest,  sufficiently  civilized  unto  ways  of 
the  white  man  to  recognize  authority  and 
order,  he  felt  free  from  all  those  extrava- 
gant notions  of  civilization  against  which 
not  even  the  convent  walls  could  shield 
him.  He  found  a  perfect  Christian  com- 
munity, so  carefully  modeled  by  his  own 
Bishop  on  the  fundamental  principles  of 
Christianity,  which  command  the  love  of 


God  and  one's  neighbor. 


REV.   HENRY  I..  THIELE. 

The  reception 
accorded  him  was  simply  a  demonstra- 
tion of  children's  love  towards  their 
father.  In  return  Father  Jacker's  first 
endeavors  were  to  learn  the  language  of 
his  spiritual  charges.  In  the  course  of  the 
five  years  he  attended   that   mission  he 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


377 


spoke  it  quite  fluently  to  the  great  delight 
of  the  Indians. 

In  April,  i860,  Father  Jacker  received, 
in  addition,  charge  of  the  St.  Ignatius 
congregation  in  Houghton.  The  great 
distance  made  it  impossible  to  serve  both 
places  on  Sunday  so  he  walked  every  other 
week  to  the  Portage.  This  arrangement 
was  kept  up  for  one  whole  year,  when  in 
April,   1861,  he  was  relieved  of  duty  at 


REV.   EDWARD  JACKER. 

I.'  \nse  and  moved  to  Houghton.  But 
there,  too,  he  had  a  dual  parish.  On  the 
4th  of  August.  1861,  the  St.  Anne's 
Church  in  Hancock  was  dedicated,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  hold  services  in  both 
churches  every  Sunday.  Finding  it  more 
convenient  to  live  in  Hancock,  he  re- 
moved there  right  after  the  dedicaton  of 
the  church  and  became  greatly  attached 


to  the  place.  He  built  on  to  the  rear  of 
the  church  a  large,  comfortable,  convent- 
like dwelling  and  surrounded  himself  with 
priests,  like  Sweeney,  Walsh  and  Dwyer, 
men  whom  he  had  helped  to  attain  priestly 
dignity.  For  years  he  was  among  them 
the  central  figure,  and  lived  with  them 
more  like  a  monk  than  a  secular  pastor. 
Indeed,  he  at  one  time  seriously  enter- 
tained the  thought  of  establishing  with 
the  assistance  of  those  priests  a  religious 
community.  So  serious  and  enthusiastic 
were  they  all  about  the  project  that  they 
purchased  a  parcel  of  land  in  an  idyllic 
place  near  the  Canal  where  the  future 
home  of  the  society  should  be — but  ac- 
cording to  Providence  that  was  not  to  be. 

In  October,  1866,  Bishop  Baraga  went 
to  the  Second  Plenary  Council.  Before 
leaving,  he  called  Father  Jacker  to  Mar- 
quette, and  made  him  administrator  of 
the  diocese  during  his  absence.  From  the 
Council  he  returned  a  sick  man  and  from 
that  time  to  his  death,  the  services  of 
Father  Jacker  were  to  him  indispensable; 
he  rendered  the  invalid  bishop  invaluable 
assistance  and  after  his  death  January  19, 
1868,  he  remained  in  charge  of  the  diocese 
until  after  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Mrak. 

Relieved  from  duty  in  Marquette, 
Father  Jacker  received  appointment,  at 
his  request,  to  organize  a  new  congrega- 
tion at  Calumet.  His  first  baptismal  en- 
try there  is  on  October  18,  1868.  He  built 
that  year  the  Sacred  Heart  church  and 
the  following  year  the  priest's  residence, 
and  remained  in  charge  of  that  congrega- 
tion until  October,  1873. 

Considering  Father  Jacker's  merits  for 
the  diocese  Bishop  Mrak  upon  assuming 
the  government  of  the  diocese  invested 
him  with  the  title  of  Vicar  General,  and 


w 
o 

«i  < 

<  £ 


-  Z 

05  H 

h  <! 
H 

X  w 

0-  ,_! 

<  3 

OS  w 

o  > 

o  -^ 


S3  a 
o  w 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


379 


made  him  again  administrator  of  the  dio- 
cese while  he  himself  was  at  the  Vatican 
Council.  In  the  fall  of  1873  a  rupture 
between  the  two  occurred.  A  young  man 
who  fraudulently  collected  money  as  a 
student  of  the  diocese  was  denounced  by 
Bishop  Mrak  by  means  of  a  circular.  It 
happened  that  Father  Jacker,  who  was  al- 
ways a  friend  of  the  poor  admitted  this 
pseudo-student  in  cassock  and  surplice  in- 
to the  sanctuary,  after  the  issuing  of  that 
circular.  When  this  became  known  to  the 
Bishop,  he  promptly  divested  the  veteran 
missionary  of  that  ecclesiastical  dignity. 
In  the  Directory  for  1873  we  find  only 
"Rev."  in  contra  distinction  to  previous 
years  of  "Very  Rev."  Edward  Jacker. 

The  taking  away  of  this  title  did  not 
diminish  the  Bishop's  confidence  in  Fath- 
er Jacker's  ability,  nor  did  it  prove  a  hin- 
drance to  his  effectiveness.  The  parish  of 
St.  Ignace  had  just  gone  through  so  many 
ups  and  downs  that  to  reduce  it  to  its 
normal  condition,  the  Bishop  considered 
it  necessary  to  send  them  a  man  of 
Jacker's  stamp.  There  was  only  one 
Jacker  in  the  diocese  and  he  was  selected 
for  the  post.  He  arrived  in  St.  Ignace  in 
November,    1873. 

This  move  seems  to  have  been  provi- 
dential. Having  charge  of  such  histori- 
cal places  as  Mackinac  Island  and  St.  Ig- 
nace— again  a  dual  parish — Father  Jac- 
ker at  once  became  busy  with  their  mis- 
sionary history.  It  occurred  to  him  that 
the  grave  of  Father  Marquette  must  be 
within  the  precinct  of  his  parish.  He  not 
only  read  and  studied  old  historical  works 
bearing  on  the  subject,  but  inquired 
among  the  old  Indian  survivors  as  to  the 
traditions  which  he  knew  existed  among 
them.     Following  the  clue  which  he  re- 


ceived from  these  sources — one  confirm- 
ing the.  other — his  investigations  finally 
led  to  the  discovery  of  the  ancient  site  of 
the  Jesuit  chapel  and  the  grave  of  Father 
Marquette,  which  was  hidden  there  and 
forgotten  for  centuries. 

While    in    St.    Ignace    Father    Jacker 
wrote  considerable  in  English  and  Ger- 


rev.    tames   mcgowan,   died   pastor  of   st. 
Patrick's  church  askeaton,  wis. 

man  periodicals  on  this  subject  and  early 
missions.  We  also  have  a  drawing  from 
his  skillful  pen,  entitled:  "Father  Mar- 
quette taking  lessons  in  Geography  from 
the  Indians."  This  pen-sketch  was  first 
published  in  "Ueber  Land  und  Meer."  To 
us  it  was  given  by  his  brother  the  Hon. 
Francis  Jacker.  We  have  reproduced  it 
here  and  it  also  forms  the  scene  on  the 
main  curtain  of  the  Baraga  Auditorium, 
in  the  Cathedral  school  in  Marquette.     A 


380 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


small  but  fitting  memorial  to  Father  Jac- 
ker!  In  a  note  inscribed  in  the  baptismal 
register  he  says  that  a  few  names  are 
missing,  because  in  the  capsizing  of  the 
sail  boat  he  lost  his  memorandum.  In 
this  same  booklet  he  had  written  down 
many  important  memoranda  concerning 
the  diocese ;  expecting  to  use  them  in  the 
compilation  of  the  early  history  of  these 
regions. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Mrak 
in  the  fall  of  1878,  Father  Jacker  became 
administrator  of  the  diocese  for  the  third 
time,  and  after  the  elevation  of  Bishop 
Vertin  accepted  the  pastorate  of  St. 
Anne's  in  Hancock  which  he  resigned  in 
July,  1884,  to  retire  to  Eagle  Harbor. 
The  many  missions  connected  with  that 
place  required  considerable  activity,  and 
as  long  as  he  desired  to  have  a  quiet  place 
where  he  could  devote  his  time  to  study 
and  writing,  he  was  sent  at  his  own  re- 
quest to  Detour  in  the  spring  of  1886. 
Ill  health  compelled  him  to  abandon  that 
mission  even  before  the  icy  winter  made 
an  exit  impossible.  He  spent  some  time 
in  trying  to  restore  his  health  but  finally 
returned  to  Marquette  where  he  died  on 
the  1st  of  September,  1887.  His  remains 
were  taken  to  Hancock  and  after  lying  in 
state  over  Sunday  in  the  church  which  he 
had  built,  and  where  he  had  been  pastor 
for  so  many  years,  they  were  interred  in 
the  Catholic  cemetery. 

REV.  MARTIN  FOX. 

One  of  the  best  known  priests  among 
the  old  settlers  of  the  Upper  Peninsula  is 
Father  Fox.  He  was  born  in  Koenigs- 
berg,  Prussia,  about  the  year  1830,  and 
strange  to  say  his  surname  was  always 
Fox  and  not  Americanized  from  Fuchs  as 
many  would  naturally  be  led  to  believe. 


While  he  was  being  educated  fc  r  the  For- 
eign Missions  in  Paris,  Bishop  Baraga, 
recognizing  his  extraordinary  talents,  in- 
vited him  to  his  new  diocese  of  Upper 
Michigan.  Accepting  the  invitation,  he 
was  sent  in  the  fall  of  1854  to  All  Hol- 
lows College.  Ireland,  in  order  to  acquire 
English.  Besides  completing  his  theol- 
ogy, he  mastered  the  language  in  one 
year,  and  came  to  America  in  1855  and 


REV.    MARTIN    FOX. 


was  ordained  on  the  23rd  of  September  of 
that  year.  Appointed  assistant  to  Father 
Dunne  at  Ontonagon,  he  worked  in  unity 
with  his  pastor  in  the  Ontonagon  Valley. 
The  large  territory  necessitated  much 
traveling  back  and  forth,  and  for  con- 
venience sake  Bishop  Baraga,  dividing 
the  jurisdiction,  appointed  Father  Fox 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church  in  the  Irish 
Hollow,   Rockland,   as  it  was  familiarly 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


381 


known.  From  here  Father  Fox's  activity 
extended  for  many  years  and  his  person- 
ality is  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
development  of  the  Ontonagon  district, 
that  if  it  were  possible  to  record  it,  it 
would  form  a  volume  of  history  by  itself. 
No  priest  was  ever  more  popularly  known 
than  he.  His  oratory,  in  German,  Eng- 
lish, or  French,  as  occasion  demanded, 
was  as  peerless  on  the  4th  of  July  cel- 
ebration as  it  was  in  his  pulpit  which 
often  times  happened  to  be  a  platform 
behind  a  school-teacher's  desk.  It  was 
all  the  same  to  him.  He  was  at  home 
in  the  poor  man's  cabin,  or  if  per- 
chance he  strayed  to  greater  comforts, 
in  the  houses  of  the  wealthier.  He 
was  known  to  be  always  on  the  go. 
Therefore  he  was  satisfied  with  what- 
ever accommodation  came  his  way. 
At  home  he  assuredly  had  none.  The 
small  shanty  aside  of  bis  church  had 
two  rooms  which  answered  for  the 
drawing  room,  bedroom,  kitchen  or 
library  just  as  the  occasion  required, 
and  these  he  shared  with  a  student  or 
two  of  whom  he  always  had  one  on 
hand.  The  equipment  of  the  house 
was  most  primitive,  lacking  even  the 
necessaries.  Bishop  Baraga  presented 
him  with  five  spoons  and  four  pair  of 
knives  and  forks,  because  of  these 
utensils  there  were  not  enough  to 
reach  around  for  three  at  the  table.  And 
more  than  once  the  Father  prepared  cof- 
fee in  an  oyster  can.  The  dwelling  itself 
was  most  poorly  constructed.  In  the 
winter  the  wind  usually  blew  enough 
snow  through  the  cracks  over  the  bed 
during  the  night  that  on  awakening  the 
reverend  gentleman  gathered  it  by  the 
handful  from  over  the  covers  and  used  it 


for  the  purpose  of  washing  himself  be- 
fore he  alighted  from  his  bed. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  Father  Fox  had 
just  commenced  building  a  new  church 
in  the  Irish  Hollow,  when,  upon  the  leav- 
ing of  Father  Moyce,  Ontonagon  was 
added  to  the  list  of  his  missions.  He  then 
had  four  churches  within  his  jurisdiction. 


MICHAEL    I.ETELL1ER, 
ILL.    MAY   2 


DIED    AT    BOURBONAIS, 
1904. 


Each  Sunday  he  celebrated  Mass  in  two 
of  them,  walking  between  Masses  thirteen 
miles  from  Rockland  to  Ontonagon,  or 
vice  versa,  and  once  a  month  he  made  a 
similar  trip  to  Greenland  or  Norwich,  the 
former  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  the  latter 
sixteen.  On  week  days  he  visited  smaller 
locations    without   churches.     Amidst   of 


382 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


this  missionary  work,  he  finished  his 
church.  Bishop  Baraga  dedicated  it  on 
September  4,  1859.  It  was  a  church  the 
like  of  which  was  not  in  the  diocese.  The 
whole  Ontonagon  Valley  was  proud  of 
the  achievement,  probably  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  architecture  as  on  account 
of  the  pipe  organ  it  possessed,  it  being  the 
first  ever  brought  to  the  Upper  Peninsula. 
In  October,  1859,  Father  Fox  received  a 
helper  in  the  person  of  Father  Cebul,  who, 
thou°-h  a  new  arrival  from  the  old  coun- 
try, faithfully  shared  the  work  with  his 


vited  the  Ursuline  Nuns,  renowned  edu- 
cators of  their  sex,  to  come  to  Ontona- 
gon. Following  the  imitation  they 
opened  the  new  school  under  Mother 
Mary  Magdalen  Stehlin,  in  the  fall  of 
1863.  The  School  flourished  for  five 
years  and  then  broke  up. 

Disheartened  by  the  failure  of  his  pet 
undertaking,  Father  Fox  so  much  more 
♦willingly  accepted  from  Father  Jacker, 
then  administrator  of  the  diocese,  the  call 
to  the  pastorate  of  the  Cathedral  parish. 
His  last  baptismal  record  in  Rockland  is 


THREE    PIONEER    MISSIONARIES    OF    THE 
FOX,  CEBUL 

pastor  for  one  year.  In  1862,  Father  An- 
dolschek,  and  1863,  Father  Flannigan 
were  assistants  in  Rockland. 

The  help  which  Father  Fox  received 
from  his  assistants  encouraged  him  to 
greater  undertakings.  He  always  had  the 
education  of  youth  at  heart,  but  he  saw 
a  particular  want  of  a  higher  education 
for  girls.  The  Ontonagon  Valley  was 
prosperous,  indeed,  and  be  failed  to  see 
why  it  could  not  support  an  institution  for 
that  purpose.  He  built  a  convent  on  the 
church   property   at   Ontonagon   and   in- 


DIOCESE.      FROM    LEFT    TO    RIGHT:    REVS. 
AND   JACKER. 

on  the  4th.  and  his  first  in  Marquette  on* 
the  8th  of  August,  1868.  He  retained  this 
charge  until  October  18,  1870.  when  he 
resigned  on  account  of  poor  health  for  the 
restoration  of  which  he  spent  after  that 
sometime  in  Iowa. 

In  1872  the  Catholics  of  Menominee 
petitioned  the  Bishop  for  a  priest.  Re- 
membering Father  Fox's  liking  for  new 
missions,  he  appointed  him  the  first  pas- 
tor of  that  place.  There  was  ample  room 
for  his  still  young  ambitions.  He  found 
a  church  under  roof  but  inside  wholly  un- 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AXD  MARQUETTE 


383 


finished.     At  first  he  found  hospitality  in 
the  PenGilly's  home,  and  then  as  soon  as 
he   could    furnish   a    room   aside   of   the 
sanctuary,  he  removed  to  that  place.     He 
remained  in  Menominee  till  April,  1875. 
Having  acquired  a  roving  disposition 
in    the    Ontonagon    valley,  Father    Fox 
found  himself  more  at  ease  among  many 
small   missions.      Of  such  there  was  an 
abundance  in  the  diocese,  particularly  had 
settlers  come  around  the  two  Bays  de  No- 
(ines,  but,  scattered  as  they  were  over  the 
territory  of  more  than   forty  miles,   af- 
forded   poor    opportunities    for    opening 
permanent   missions.      Still    they   needed 
religious  services,  arid  to  these  poor  for- 
saken people  Father  Fox  went.     He  es- 
tablished his  quarters  in  Escanaba  with 
Rev.    Father    Langner    and    from    there 
made  periodical   excursions   through   the 
trackless  woods  in  search  of  isolated  in- 
habitants.    For  two  years  he  vi sited  the 
shores   of   Lake   Michigan   serving  most 
humbly  to  the  people  who  lived  in  those, 
to  other  missionaries,  inaccessible  places. 
In  1878  Father  Fox  transferred  his  op- 
erations to  the  Menominee  Ranges.     The 
first  church  in  Stephenson  and  Spalding 
were  monuments  to  his  zeal.     In  Septem- 
ber of  1879,  ne  went  to  Republic  where 
he  built  up  the  church  and  house.     Death 
cut  off  his  activity  on  March  21,   1881. 
His  remains  are  interred  in  the  Catholic 
cemetery  of  that  place. 

REVr.  JOHN  CEBUL. 


This 


most    gifted    priest    was    born 


in  Velesovo  (Michelstetten)  Carniolia, 
Austria,  on  the  13th  of  October,  1832. 
He  finished  his  classical  and  theological 
studies  in  Laibach,  and  was  ordained 
priest  November  3,  1855,  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Anton  Aloys  Wolf,  Prince-Bishop  of  Lai- 


bach. As  seminarist  he  had  become  ac- 
quainted with  Bishop  Baraga  who  held 
out  to  him  an  invitation  to  come  to  the 
American  mission,  but  the  young  man 
could  not  at  the  time  make  the  decisive 
step.  After  his  ordination  he  was  sent  as 
assistant  to  the  parish  of  Poelland  and 
lastly  to  that  in  Krainburg.  Not  being 
able  to  resist  the  pleadings  of  Bishop  Ba- 
raga, he  came  to  America,  arriving  at  the 


REV.  JOHN  CEBUL. 

Sault  on  the  27th  anniversary  of  his  birth, 
October  13,  1859,  and  was  sent  the  fol- 
lowing day  to  the  Minnesota  Mine,  the 
present  Rockland. 

Father  Cebul  spent  one  year  in  Rock- 
land and  learned  during  that  time  Eng- 
lish and  French  so  well  that  he  was  able 
to  preach  in  either  of  the  two  languages. 
This  extraordinary  achievement  was 
greatly  admired  by  Bishop  Baraga  and 


384 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


was  the  reason  that  he  appointed  Cebul  to 
the  missions  under  his  jurisdiction  in 
Northern  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  In 
the  Ontonagon  Valley  the  Indian  lan- 
guage was  not  required,  but  was  neces- 
sary in  those  missions,  and  then  who 
could  learn  it  easier  than  the  gifted  young 
priest!  In  August,  1861,  Bishop  Baraga 
went  to  La  Point  accompanied  by  Father 
Cebul  intending  to  leave  him  on  the  Is- 
land where  the  church  .was,  but  the  inhab- 
itants from  Bayfield  prevailed  upon  him 


changes  time  has  wrought.  Nine  years 
ago  I  also  preached  in  this  vicinity.  It 
must  have  been  about  there  where  the 
bank  building  stands  today.  There  stood 
at  that  time  an  Indian  hut  inhabited  by  a 
dying  Indian  whom  I  baptized  and  after- 
wards preached  in  the  Otchipwe  to  the 
Indians  present.  Since  then  the  cabin 
and  the  surrounding  woods  have  disap- 
peared, stately  buildings  stand  now  where 
then  was  impenetrable  wilderness.  One 
hears  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive,  the 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH   IN  DULUTH,  EUILT  BY  FATHER  CEBUL. 


to  allow  the  priest  to  reside  on  the  main- 
land where  the  majority  of  his  flock  were. 
The  house  was  built  at  once  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Henry  M.  Rice,  and 
the  year  after,  Father  Cebul  built  the 
church  which  stands  there  to  this  day. 
In  Superior  there  was  a  small  church 
but  Father  Cebul  enlarged  it,  and  in 
Duluth  he  built  a  new  one  dedicating  it 
to  the  Sacred  Heart.  In  his  first  sermon 
in  Duluth,  on  the  19th  of  December,  1869, 
he    said    in    German :    "What    wonderful 


harbinger  of  better  days,  and  sees  the  tele- 
graph reaching  into  the  regions  then  tra- 
versed only  by  the  Indian  in  search  of 
game.  Who  would  have  thought  that  I 
would  ever  preach  in  German  in  this 
wilderness !  And  it  is  worth  the  notice 
that  this  is  the  first  German  sermon  ever 
preached  between  St.  Paul  and  Ontona- 
gon, a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  forty 
miles."35 


SE  From  a  collection  of  sermons,  speeches, 
lectures,  etc.  now  in  the  dioces.  Archiv.  in  Mar- 
quette. 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


385 


For  a  period  of  ten  years  or  more  Fath- 
er Cebul  was  the  only  priest  at  the  head 
of  the  Lakes.  His  many  scattered  mis- 
sions, and  more  frequently  distant  sick- 
calls,  required  him  to  make  long  distances 
afoot.  Owing  to  this  long  journey  he  be- 
came an  extraordinary  walker,  so  that 
sixty  to  seventy  miles  a  day  caused  him 
no  hardship.  He  told  us  that  at  one  time 
he  went  on  snow  shoes  to  St.  Paul  and 
from  there  to  Milwaukee  and  back  again 
to  Bayfield.  A  snow-shoe-tramp  seldom, 
if  ever  equaled! 


through  Wisconsin,  therefore,  he  turned 
his  steps  to  the  Keshena  reservation.  De- 
voting the  entire  month  of  September  to 
the  visiting  of  different  stations,  he  saw 
for  himself  the  sad  plight  of  the  Catholic 
Indians  and  the  true  purpose  of  the 
proselytizers.  On  this  tour  of  investiga- 
tion he  conferred  forty  one  baptisms  and 
after  having  confirmed  his  new  friends  in 
their  faith,  he  promised  them  to  return 
next  year.  He  made  his  word  good.  Re- 
turning to  the  United  States,  he  first 
made  a  hurried  visit  to  his  former  mis- 


1NSIDE  VIEW  OF  THE  FIRST  CHURCH   IN  DULUTH. 


In  the  summer  of  1872  Father  Cebul 
decided  to  visit  his  native  country.  Many 
times  he  had  heard  from  Indians  and 
Whites  of  the  forceful  proselyting  carried 
on  by  the  government's  officials  in  the 
reservations,  but  the  unscrupulous  in- 
trigues charged  against  the  agent  and  his 
subordinates  in  the  Keshena  reservation 
were  of  such  a  nature  that  he  found  them 
hard  to  believe.  So  vitally  interested  in 
the  Indians,  he  determined  to  investigate 
the  conditions  for  himself.     On  his  way 


sions  on  Lake  Superior  and  unhesitat- 
ingly made  his  way  to  Keshena.  During 
the  year  the  unscrupulousness  of  the 
proselytizers  trapping  the  Indians  from 
their  faith  had  redoubled  its  unworthy 
zeal.  But  then  Father  Cebul's  fiery  char- 
acter showed  itself  at  its  best.  Fearlessly 
he  laid  bare  the  shameful  intriguing  of 
the  government's  agent  and  the  entire 
constellation  of  sub-officials,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  so  many  preachers,  and  with 
a  telling  effect.     The  Menominees  clung 


386 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


to  their  faith.  The  report  of  the  agent 
for  the  year  1873  was:  "The  only  purely 
religious  work  among  the  Menominees 
has  been  done  by  the  Romanists,  who 
now  have  a  priest  at  Keshena."  And 
Father  Cebul's  work  during  1874  is  best 
mirrored  in  the  report  of  the  same  official 
who  says:  "The  efforts  of  the  Catholic 
priest  among  the  Menominees  have  been 
remarkably  successful.  He.  however, 
thwarted  the  attempts  of  the  agent  and 
employes  to  supplement  his  labors  by 
holding  temperance  meetings  at  the  Coun- 
cil House  and  the  school  house  upon  Sun- 
days." Father  Cebul  understood  what 
those  "temperance  meetings"  were  in- 
tended for,  and  the  fact  that  the  agent 
was  dismissed  on  account  of  drunkenness, 
shows  that  his  warning  was  timely. 
"Next  to  God,"  writes  a  missionary,  "it 
is  due  to  the  vigilance  and  fiery  zeal  of 
Father  Cebul  that  the  efforts  of  bigoted 
proselytizers  were  baffled  and  the  faith  of 
the  Menominees  preserved  " 

While  Father  Cebul  was  fighting  for 
the  faith  of  his  adopted  children,  he  was 
much  missed  and  his  absence  mourned 
among  his  former  missions  on  Lake  Su- 
perior. Fie  received  from  them  a  memor- 
ial of  their  love  and  lonesomeness  for 
him.  "Mekatewikwenaie  gaie  nossinan 
John  Cebul"  they  wrote,  "We  hope  you 
will  not  have  forgotten  your  children  at 
Lac-Superior  entirely.  How  anxiously 
did  we  desire  to  see  you  back  again 
amongst  us  whom  you  have  favored  so 
many  years  with  your  paternal  care  and 
love  and  spiritual  instructions !  More 
than  ever  we  feel  now  how  much  we  have 
lost  in  you  and  we  acknowledge  with  sor- 
row, that  we  have  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated all  the  labors  and  troubles  you  had 


with  us.  But  have  mercy  on  us  and  for- 
give us  dear  Father.  We  promise  you  to 
be  in  future  good  and  grateful  children. 
We  entreat  you  with  all  our  hearts  to 
come  back  again  to  your  old  Mission, 
where  you  have  labored  with  so  great  a 
blessing  nearly  all  the  time  of  your  priest- 
ly life.  This  we  hope  and  desire  the  more 
being  left  in  a  few  days  by  our  present 
priest,  Rev.  Father  Pfaller,  who  is  going 
to  Bad  River  to  stay  there  for  good.  We 
hope  and  pray  to  God  that  you  will  favor 
the  subscribers  with  the  fulfillment  of 
their  most  fervent  desires  and  wishes." 
This  expression  of  attachment  was  signed 
by  Father  Pfaller,  John  B.  Bono,  Fran- 
cois Belanger,  Sr.,  Peter  Richard,  H.  H. 
Picard,  N.  LaBonte,  Nelson  Boutin, 
Frank  Boutin,  J.  Boutin,  Patrick  Hanley. 
Louis  Bachand,  George  Hoferle,  Benoni 
Boutin,  Thomas  Stahl.  John  Stahl,  Sam- 
uel Bennett,  Xarcisse  Cadran,  John  Jus- 
tice, George  A.  Stahl,  Peter  Steffes  and 
P.  Ley.  The  same  in  Ochipwe  was  first 
signed  by  Father  Pfaller  as  Franqois 
Xavier  Wassegigig,  Mekatewekwenaie, 
then,  after  the  two  chiefs,  John  Buffalo 
and  Joseph  Chigoge,  follow  one  hundred 
and  twenty  seven  names. 

This  decided  Father  Cebul  to  leave 
Keshena,  and  he  would  have  returned  to 
Lake  Superior  if  his  sight  had  not  com- 
menced to  fail,  and  if  he  did  not  have  the 
interest  of  the  Menominees  so  close  at 
heart.  To  remain  in  their  vicinity  he  ac- 
cepted the  Marinette  parish  which  had 
been  without  a  priest  for  some  time.  With 
customary  activity  he  finished  at  once  the 
church  begun  years  before  by  Father 
I'ernin,  and  induced  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  to  open  the  parochial  school. 
This    pastorate    so    auspiciously    begun, 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


387 


might  have  lasted  for  many  years  to  the 
great  good  of  the  Marinette  Catholics, 
had  it  not  been  interrupted  by  the  follow- 
ing incident. 

The  Catholic  Temperance  Society  of 
Philadelphia  planned  a  grand  display  and 
wrote  for  this  purpose  to  Father  Mas- 
chelein,  who  had  succeeded  Father  Cebul 
in  Keshena,  that  if  he  would  bring  a  dele- 
gation of  the  Menominee  Temperance  So- 
ciety to  Philadelphia  in  order  to  take  part 
in  the  festivities,  all  his  expenses  would  be 
paid.  Father  Maschelein  willingly  en- 
tered upon  the  proposition,  and  when  he 
spoke  to  the  Indians  they  cheerfully  con- 
sented, but  when  the  project  was  referred 
to  the  Agent,  he  point-blank  refused  per- 
mission to  the  Indians  to  leave  the  reser- 
vation. Thinking  that  Father  Cebul 
might  be  more  successful.  Father  Mas- 
chelein enlisted  his  help,  but  to  the  great 
dismay  of  both,  he  fared  no  better.  Keen 
of  perception  like  an  Indian,  Father  Cebul 
knew  that  his  blunt  refusal  was  made  to 
even  up  some  of  the  old  score.  However, 
he  would  not  be  daunted.  To  carry  out 
the  programme  he  went  to  Michigan,  se- 
lected twenty  five  Chippewas  who  were 
not  Reservation-Indians  and  started  for 
Philadelphia.  But  the  Keshena  Agent 
was  also  on  the  alert.  When  Father  Cebul 
arrived  with  his  Indians  in  Chicago,  he 
was  arrested  on  the  charge  "of  taking 
Indians  to  Philadelphia  without  federal 
permission."  His  fiery  nature  burst  forth, 
vigorously  protesting  against  his  deten- 
tion. At  the  trial  he  argued  that  the  em- 
peror of  Japan  had  just  as  much  right  to 
arrest  him  as  the  Chicago  authorities.  He 
proved  to  them  that  he  and  his  compan- 
ions were  citizens,  and  as  such  had  the  in- 
violable right  to  go  where  they  pleased. 


Set  free  he  continued  his  journey  to  Phil- 
adelphia only  to  be  again  harassed  by  a 
bigoted  anti-Catholic  official  from  Sha- 
wano. Notwithstanding  the  obstructions 
Father  Cebul  carried  his  purpose  to  the 
end. 

The  trouble  with  his  eyes  caused  Father 
Cebul  much  anxiety;  all  medical  experts 
advised  a  change  of  climate,  so  that  there 


REV.   ANTHONY   ZAGAR   DIED  AT   MARQUETTE,  JAN. 
9,   I9°I- 

was  little  doubt  but  a  milder  climate 
would  free  him  from  the  evil  contracted 
in  smoky  Indian  huts  and  the  severe 
northern  winters.  Following  this  advice, 
he  went  to  Europe  and  from  there  to  In- 
dia, where  he  engaged  in  missionary  work 
but  returned  to  France  in  1878  and  took 
a  country  parish  in  the  diocese  of  Ver- 
sailles. His  urbanity  gained  the  hearts 
of   his    French    parishioners    who    never 


388 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


failed  to  admire  the  practicability  of  an 
American  missionary.  During  his  four 
years'  stay  in  France  he  made  as  many 
friends  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Paris 
as  in  his  own  parish.  Even  after  his  re- 
turn to  Michigan,  in  August  1882,  he 
kept  up  a  lively  correspondence  with  them, 
and  not  seldom  they  entreated  him  to  re- 
turn to  their. midst,  but  true  to  his  mis- 
sionary career  he  preferred  American  mis- 
sion life  to  French  parish  work. 

From  France  Father  Cebul  came  direct- 
ly to  the  diocese  in  which  he  had  at  first 
enlisted.  Bishop  Vertin  received  him 
most  kindly  and  from  that  time  Father 
Cebul  labored  in  the  following  missions : 
St.  Ignace  from  December  9,  1882  to 
June  17,  1885;  Calumet  from  July  1885 
to  September  20,  1886;  Manistique  from 
October  1886  to  November  1887;  Iron- 
wood  from  November  22,  1887  to  July 
15,  1888;  Ontonagon  from  August  1888 
to  October  1889;  Iron  River  from  No- 
vember 8,  1889  to  November  23,  1890; 
Norway  from  November  24.  1890  to 
April  29,  1 89 1 ;  St.  Ignace  2nd  term  from 
September  24,  1891  to  January  10,  1893; 
Newberry  from  November  1,  1893  to 
May  10,  1896,  and  lastly  in  Garden  Bay, 
where  his  eventful  life  came  to  a  close  on 
August  3,  1898.  His  remains  were  bur- 
ied in  St.  Ignace  which  he  loved  above 
all  other  missions  and  where  he  was  twice 
pastor. 

Father  Cebul,  like  all  other  Indian  mis- 
sionaries, was,  as  the  above  dates  show, 
of  a  roving  disposition.  Since  he  had  left 
Bayfield  he  found  no  resting  place.  But 
wherever  he  was,  his  personality  and  his 
attainments  gained  him  a  host  of  friends. 
He  was  a  good  musician  and  loved  to  sing 
to  his  own  accompaniment  on  piano  or 


organ;  he  excelled  in  telling  stories  from 
the  life  among  savages  and  other  experi- 
ences in  life.  He  was  a  good  speaker  and 
among  his  writings  there  are  sketches  of 
lectures  which  he  delivered  before  a  club 
in  Paris.  As  linguist  he  was  unsur- 
passed in  the  diocese;  he  spoke  English, 
French,  German,  several  Indian  dialects, 
five  Slavic  languages.  Arabian,  and  two 
classic  languages,  Latin  and  Greek.     In 


REV.    HONORATL'S   BOURIOX. 


the  latter  he  was  so  proficient  that  he 
wrote  iambic  verses  in  it.  With  how, 
many  more  languages  he  was  acquainted 
would  be  even  hard  to  guess.  In  one 
word,  his  talents  were  so  phenomenally 
abundant  that  compared  even  with  the 
magnitude  of  his  achievement  in  life, 
they  were  only  squandered — not  malic- 
iously, he  hardly  ever  realized  that  he  had 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


389 


them,  for  he  was  as  simple  as  a  child  and 
had  no  ambitions  for  ecclesiastical  prefer- 
ences, but  he  did  jocosely  pride  himself 
on  the  fact  that  he  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace  in  one  of  his  small  missions  on 
Lake  Superior. 

May  his  memory  be  blest!  We  close 
his  biographical  sketch  with  a  composi- 
tion of  his  own.  He  had  it  printed  and 
used  to  give  or  distribute  it  among  the 
children. 

THE  CROSS 


If    e'er     my      dear, 

Thou  be    distressed, 

With    grief   and  fear 

Thy  mind  be  press'd 

Through  bitterness  thy  heart  be  torn; 

If    wretchedness      or      hopes     forlorn 

Should    fill    thy  soul  with  tribulation, 

Behold  the  blessed  Tree  of  consolation. 

Behold       the      Sign 

Of    th'    happy    tree 

Where     the      Divine 

Expired     for      thee; 

To     save    the     mind 

From       desolation; 

To       save     mankind 

From  its  damnation. 

Oh     Cross!   Oh!      Ensign    of  Salvation! 

Oh!   sweet'n    my    soul   in    tribulation; 

To    thee  I'll  fly  in   ev'ry    grief, 

In  these  I'll  seek  and   find  relief. 

Thou  tell'st  me  all  my  Savior  did  for  me', 

When  suft" ring  utmost  pangs  He  died  on  thee, 

Oh.     Cross!     Oh    wonderful!     Oh   happy     tree  I 

REV.  HONORATUS  BOURION. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
in  the  diocese  of  St.  Die,  France,  June  i , 
1840.  He  finished  his  course  of  philoso- 
phy and  part  of  that  of  theology  in  Paris. 
His  uncle  Rev.  Sebastian  Duroc,  who  was 
pastor  at  Waverille,  diocese  of  Verdum, 
department  de  la  Meuse,  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Bishop  Baraga  in  1853 
and  through  his  invitation  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1856.  Four  years  later  his  nephew 
followed  him.  Being  accepted  as  student 
of  the  diocese,  he  was  sent  for  one  year  to 
the  Cincinnati  Seminary  for  the  purpose 


of  learning  the  language  of  the  country 
as  well  as  for  finishing  theology.  On  ac- 
count of  scarcity  of  priests  Honoratus  was 
ordained,  with  apostolic  dispensation,  at 
the  age  of  twenty  one,  on  December  1, 
1 861. 

Retained  at  the  Cathedral  at  the  Sault, 
Father  Bourion  did  parish  work  until 
May  1,  1862.  At  his  own  request  he  was 
sent  to  Negaunee  to  establish  a  new  par- 
ish which  he  carried  out  very  well.  In 
1868  he  commenced  the  building  ot  the 
new  St.  Paul's  church,  and  a  year  later 
that  of  St.  John's  in  Ishpeming.  This 
undertaking  involved  him  in  considerable 
indebtedness  and  at  the  attempt  of  clear- 
ing it.  his  health  broke  down  and  on 
March  18,  1871,  Bishop  Mrak  gave  him 
permission  temporarily  to  leave  the  dio- 
cese. He  went  to  Central  City,  Colorado, 
where  his  uncle  held  a  parish,  and  after 
the  return  of  the  latter  to  France  in  1873, 
succeeded  him  in  his  charge.  In  1877  he 
removed  to  Bellefontaine,  Ohio. 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  laid  down 
certain  laws  about  the  incardination  of 
priests.  Not  to  lose  the  prestige  in  his 
diocese  by  limitation  of  time  Father  Bour- 
ion returned  to  Marquette  and  was  given 
the  St.  John's  parish  at  Ishpeming.  He 
remained  there  from  February  17,  1889, 
till  August  1890  when  he  was  transferred 
to  Iron  Mountain.  Losing  his  church  bv 
fire  he  commenced  building  a  new  one  but 
was  removed  to  Menominee,  in  June  1893, 
before  he  could  finish  it. 

In  Menominee  ran  the  last  chapter  ot 
Father  Bourion's  life.  His  labors  were 
mixed  up  with  a  good  deal  of  sickness, 
from  which  he  seemed  to  rally  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1890.  On  October  28th  he  at- 
tended in  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  the  consecra- 


390 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


tion  of  Father  Stariha,  one  of  his  former 
assistants  in  Negaunee,  as  bishop  of  Lead ; 
on  his  way  home  he  contracted  pneu- 
monia and  died  in  the  morning  of  All 
Saints,  1902.  His  remains  were  buried 
in  the  public  cemetery  aside  of  those  of 
his  brother,  the  Rev.  Alcide  N.  Bourion, 
a  priest  of  the  archdiocese  of  Cincinnati, 


phalia,  October  3,  1829.  After  a  collegi- 
ate course  in  his  native  country  he  came  to 
America  at  a  period  when  educational  in- 
stitutions were  few  and  far  apart,  particu- 
larly were  seminaries  a  great  scarcity. 
To  obviate  this  want  the  bishops  of  the 
country  helped  themselves  as  best  they 
might.     Bishop  Baraga,  in  this  instance, 


REV.  GERHARD  TERHORST  WITH    A  BAND  OF   HIS  ORPHANS. 


who  died  in  Menominee  on  the  2nd  of 
December  1896. 

Father  Bourion  was  as  able  as  he  was 

ambitious.     For  years  he  was  a  dean  and 

besides  held  the  offices  of  consultor  and 

procurator  fiscalis. — May  he  rest  in  peace ! 

REV.  GERHARD  TERHORST. 

Details  of  this  venerable  priest's  life  are 
meagre.    He  was  born  in  Munster,  West- 


sent  his  young  man  to  Grand  Traverse, 
that  he  might  there,  under  Father  Mrak, 
complete  his  theology.  One  who  knows 
the  exactness  of  the  late  Bishop  Mrak, 
knows  at  once  that  punctuality  must  have 
been  the  great  virtue  during  the  three 
years  young  Terhorst  spent  at  Grand 
Traverse. 

The    unexpected    withdrawal    of    the 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


391 


Jesuits  from  the  Sault  in  July  i860  left 
also  the  small  parochial  school  without  a 
teacher.  Momentarily  the  situation  em- 
barrassed the  Bishop.  Not  being  able  to 
find  immediately  a  teacher  he  called  Mr. 
Terhorst  to  the  Sault,  placing  him  in 
charge  of  the  school.  The  work  was  very 
distasteful  to  young  Terhorst,  but  fortu- 
nately he  was  relieved   from  the  odious 


REV.     WILLIAM      SHEA,     BORN     AT    BAY     FURNACE, 
MARQUETTE     CO.     JANUARY      10,      1871.        OR- 
DAINED   BY    BISHOP    YERTIN     MAY     12,     1898. 
DIED   AT  ONTONAGON,   MAY   28,    I0X>2.      BURIED 
IN    MARQUETTE. 


task,  after  two  months,  by  the  arrival  of 
a  new  teacher  and  he  commenced  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  ordination  which  took 
place  on  December  23,  i860.  The  first 
holy  Mass  he  celebrated  on  Christmas, 
and  then  became  assistant  at  the  Cathe- 
dral. 

In  the  spring  the  incompetency  of  the 


schoolmaster  proved  so  intolerable  that 
the  Bishop  could  not  permit  him  to  serve 
out  his  term,  and  much  to  the  dislike  of 
Father  Terhorst,  he  was  again  asked  to 
take  the  school.  He  taught  from  March 
till  May  being  then  succeeded  by  Mr. 
James  Sweeney,  another  candidate  for 
Holy  Orders. 

For  the  services  so  faithfully  rendered 
in  need,  Bishop  Baraga  recompensed 
Father  Terhorst  by  appointing  him  to  his 
own  dear  L'Anse.  That  was  a  great  pro- 
motion in  the  estimation  of  the  Bishop, 
for  he  thought  a  great  deal  of  that  mis- 
sion. Father  Terhorst's  first  entry  at 
L'Anse  is  on  May  30,  1861. 

By  L'Anse  of  those  days  is  always  un- 
1  derstood  the  Mission,  or  Assinins  as  it  is 
called  now-a-days.  At  that  time  there  was 
at  the  Mission  only  the  old  church  with  a 
couple  of  rooms  in  the  rear,  and  an  In- 
dian school  in  charge  of  a  teacher,  who 
was  as  incompetent  as  his  colleague  at  the 
Sault.  Being  next  to  impossible  to  obtain 
a  good  lay  teacher,  Father  Terhorst  began 
to  entertain  a  speculative  idea  of  introduc- 
ing Sisters,  but  his  great  poverty  almost 
forbade  him  to  think  of  it.  So  he  tol- 
erated the  condition  of  things  for  several 
years  before  he  communicated  his  inmost 
desires  to  the  Bishop,  who,  equally  aware 
of  the  prevailing  impecuniosity  at  the  mis- 
sion, forbade  him  to  talk  on  the  subject  to 
the  Indians.  But  they  had  been  already 
advised  of  what  the  Sisters  would  do  for 
them.  They  decided  to  present  their  peti- 
tion to  the  Bishop  in  a  body  the  first  time 
he  came  to  LAnse.  But  he  did  not  come 
for  a  long  time.  Knowing  his  tender  love 
for  them  they,  therefore,  addressed  them- 
selves to  him  in  the  following  letter,  dated 
September  3,    1865:  "Our  dear  Father: 


392 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF 


we  join  ourselves  as  Brothers  to  address 
to  you  a  few  lines.  If  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  come  and  give  us  a  visit,  we 
would  be  very  glad  and  pleased  to  see  you. 
We  think  sometimes  you  have  forgotten 
us.  And  don't  fail  to  come.  We  have  a 
few  words  to  address  you  and  we  know 
you  shall  give  us  a  blessing  and  satisfac- 


tion. 


This  letter  was  written  in  Eng- 


lish by  Mr.  P.  Crebassa  and  signed  by 
seven  others.  In  reply  Bishop  Baraga 
sent  it  to  Father  Terhorst  and  wrote  on 
the  reverse  side,  under  date  of  October  i, 
1865  :  "Rev.  Father  Terhorst:  I  just  now 
received  this  letter;  it  has  been  nearly  a 
month  in  coming  to  me,  and  God  knows 
how  long  this  my  answer  will  be  on  the 
way,  before  it  reaches  you.  Please  tell 
my  dear  children  at  L'Anse,  that  it  is  too 
late  now  for  me  to  go  to  L'Anse,  but  next 
summer  I  will  certainly  go  there,  if  I  live. 
"I  know  what  you  and  the  Indians  want 
me  to  do  for  you;  to  drive  Mr.  *  *  *  * 
away.  I  have  pity  on  him ;  don't  deprive 
him  and  his  family  of  their  support;  and 
you  may  give  up  the  idea  of  having  Sis- 
ters at  your  poor  place. 

Your  sincere  friend  in  J,  C, 

Bishop  Baraga." 
Even  this  did  not  discourage  Father 
Terhorst.  The  following  summer,  the 
St.  Joseph's  Sisters  came  to  Hancock  to 
see  about  the  prospect  of  opening  a 
school  there.  Father  Terhorst  did  not 
miss  the  opportunity  and  met  them  at 
Hancock.  In  return  they  paid  him  a  visit 
at  L'Anse  and  although  seeing  the  great 
want  of  almost  any  comforts  they  con- 
sented to  accept  the  mission  and  be  con- 
tented with  whatever  kind  Providence 
placed  in  their  way.  Shortly  after,  Father 
1  Letter,   dioces.   Arch.   Marquette. 


Terhorst  met  the  Bishop  in  Hancock  and 
told  him  of  the  sacrificing  willingness  of 
the  Sisters.  Touched  by  this  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  he  no  longer  with-held  his  per- 
mission, but  taking  his  silver  watch  from 
his  pocket  he  handed  it  to  the  priest  say- 
ing; "Take  this,  sell  it,  more  I  cannot 
give."  Father  Terhorst  accepted  the  gift 
with  great  emotion  and  reluctance,  but 
pressed  for  money  to  pay  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  Sisters'  baggage  disposed 
of  it  to  one  of  the  priests  present.  Thus 
came  the  Sisters  to  the  Mission. 


REV.    RENATUS    BECKER,    DIED    AT    CHILTON,    WIS. 

June  5,  I9°6- 

Elated  over  his  success  Father  Terhorst 
hastened  to  make  the  Sisters  as  comfort- 
able as  he  could.  Immediately  he  com- 
menced the  erection  of  the  convent,  that 
front  part  facing  the  Lake.  In  1877  it 
was  extended  to  the  rear.  In  1873  he 
built  the  present  stone  church,  and  then 


SAULT  STE.  MARIE  AND  MARQUETTE 


393 


tore  down  the  old  one.  With  the  stone 
piled  up  from  the  clearing  of  the  land  he 
built  a  house  for  himself  and  in  1881  the 
boys'  orphanage.  God  evidently  blessed 
the  undertaking  as  all  this  was  accom- 
plished without  incurring  a  debt. 

Until  1872  the  Mission  church  was  the 
only  one  on  the  Keewenaw  Bay ;  the  peo- 
ple from  both  shores  attended  Mass  there. 
To  make  it  more  convenient  for  the  people 
of  the  east  shore  Father  Terhorst  erected 
a  small  frame  church  at  what  is  known 
today  as  L'Anse.  In  1886  he  built  a 
church  at  Baraga  and  relinquished  the 
charge  of  that  in  L'Anse.  From  that  time 
on  he  said  Mass  on  Sundays  and  festivals 
in  Baraga  and  at  the  Mission.     Thus  he 


labored  in  his  unassuming  way  to  the  end 
of  his  day,  October  4,  190 1. 

We  do  not  know  of  another  priest  in 
this  diocese  who  worked  so  long  in  one 
place  as  Father  Terhorst  did.  Forty 
years  of  his  life  have  ebbed  away  among 
people,  White  and  Indian,  whose  grati- 
tude or  recompense  he  never  sought.  He 
worked  for  the  greater  glory  of  God  and 
for  the  betterment  of  his  fellow-men. 
How  many  orphans  he  housed,  fed  and 
clothed,  how  many  tears  he  dried,  God 
only  knows.  There,  in  the  time-honored 
cemetery,  among  the  chiefs  of  old,  he  took 
his  place,  his  grave  marked  only  by  a 
wooden  cross,  just  as  he  wished  it. 


BRITTLE  DO  NOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


BRITTLE  DO  NOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


0315024059 


.767 


CO 

o 


-o  > 

o>  a: 


